Old plainsman

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Old plainsman flowers

Old plainsman

Old plainsman florets

Old plainsman

Old plainsman

Old plainsman

Old plainsman

Morphology

Stem

Stiffly erect, solitary or occasionally clustered, branched above, angled, ribbed, nearly glabrous below, usually woolly above.

Leaves

Occur in basal rosettes and alternate on stems, stalked, 2-6 inches long and 1/2 to 3 inches wide, pinnately divided 1-2 times; segments linear, green and glabrous above, white-woolly beneath; tips pointed; upper leaves reduced, less divided, nearly sessile.

Inflorescence

Cymes, panicle-like, flat-topped to rounded, terminal; heads 40-100, hemispheric, about 1/2 inch wide; bracts 6-14, petal-like, tips yellowish white to greenish white.

Flower

Ray florets absent; disk florets 20-60, corollas white to cream.

Fruit

Achenes, small, 4-angled, short-hairy, tipped with 14-18 minute, blunt scales, enclosing small seed.

Ecology

Habitat

Dry, open prairies, rocky hillsides, and roadsides, frequently in close proximity to limestone outcrops.

Distribution

East 2/3 of Kansas.

Additional Notes