White crownbeard

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White crownbeard

White crownbeard leaves

White crownbeard stem

White crownbeard

White crownbeard heads

White crownbeard

White crownbeard

White crownbeard

White crownbeard

Morphology

Stem

Erect, stout, finely pubescent, winged.

Leaves

Alternate, ovate to lance-elliptic or lance-linear, 3 to 9 inches long, 1 to 4 inches wide; upper surface rough to nearly glabrous; lower surface soft-hairy or velvety; margins coarsely-toothed or nearly entire, sometimes wavy; tip pointed to long-pointed; sessile or base narrowed, stalk-like, extending partially down stem as wing.

Inflorescence

Heads, 20-100+, 1 to 1.5 inch across, terminal, in open, somewhat flat-topped clusters; bracts 8-13 in 1-2 series, flattened, overlapping, spatulate to oblanceolate, hairy.

Flower

Ray florets 1-5, 1/6 to 1/3 inch long, white, spreading to drooping; disk florets 8-15, corollas white or cream.

Fruit

Achenes, oblanceolate, flat, dark-brown to black, sparsely pubescent, winged or wingless, tipped by 2 stiff, slender awns. At maturity, the achenes are arranged in a hemisphere.

Ecology

Habitat

Open wooded hillsides, woodland margins, openings in woodlands, flood plains, thickets, roadsides, stream banks, pastures; damp soils.

Distribution

Southeast 1/4 of Kansas

Additional Notes