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Yellow crownbeard

Also known as: gravel-weed

Verbesina helianthoides Michx.

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Yellow crownbeard inflorescence
Yellow crownbeard
Yellow crownbeard
Yellow crownbeard stem wings
Yellow crownbeard
Yellow crownbeard
Yellow crownbeard leaves
Yellow crownbeard
Yellow crownbeard leaf
Yellow crownbeard heads

Morphology

Stem
Erect, usually branched above, winged.
Leaves
Alternate, lower sometimes opposite; blade ovate to lanceolate, 2.5 to 4.75 inches long, .8 to 2.5 inches wide, base wedge-shaped, margins toothed, tip acute to attenuate, surfaces densely pubescent to silky.
Inflorescence
Heads 2-5(-10) in corymb-like arrays.
Flower
Involucres hemispheric, .4 to .6 inch wide. Phyllaries 16-21 in 2-3 series, distinct, erect, lanceolate. Ray florets 8-15, pistillate or neuter; corolla yellow, ligule .4 to .8 inch. Disk florets 40-80, bisexual, fertile; corolla yellow, tubular, lobes 5.
Fruit
Achenes dark brown to black, oblanceolate to elliptic, about .2 inch, usually sharply and prominently winged, puberulent or glabrate; pappus 2 minute awns or scales.

Ecology

Habitat
Sandy oak-hickory and post oak-black jack oak woods and glades.
Distribution
Bourbon, Crawford, Cherokee, Labette, Montgomery, and Neosho counties.

Additional Notes

Comments

Verbesina, etymology uncertain, perhaps resemblance to genus Verbena and helianthoides, resembling the genus Helianthus.

Quick Facts
Plant Type
Wildflower
Family
Asteraceae - Sunflower Family
Life Span
Perennial
Height
2-4 feet
Origin
Native
Last Updated
2014-01-20
Color Groups
Yellow Wildflowers
Flowering Period
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Blooms: May, June, July