TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL	previous taxon | next taxon Jepson Interchange (more information)
	©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California Print edition is available from the University of California Press

	The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press
	See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition

ASTERACEAE

SUNFLOWER FAMILY

David J. Keil, Family Editor and author, except as specified

Annual to tree
Leaves basal or cauline, alternate to whorled, simple to compound
Inflorescence: 1° inflorescence a head, each resembling a flower, 1–many, generally arrayed in cymes, generally subtended by ± calyx-like involucre; flowers 1–many per head
Flowers bisexual, unisexual, or sterile, ± small, of several types; calyx 0 or modified into pappus of bristles, scales, or awns, which is generally persistent in fruit; corolla radial or bilateral (rarely 0), lobes generally (0)4–5; stamens 4–5, anthers generally fused into cylinder around style, often appendaged at tips, bases, or both, filaments generally free, generally attached to corolla near throat; pistil 1, ovary inferior, 1-chambered, 1-seeded, style 1, branches 2, generally hair-tufted at tip, stigmas 2, generally on inside of style branches
Fruit: achene, cylindric to ovoid, generally deciduous with pappus attached
Genera in family: ± 1300 genera, 21,000 species (largest family of dicots): worldwide. Largest family in CA. Also see tribal key to CA genera: Strother 1997 Madroño 44(1):1–28. See glossary p. 25 for illustrations of general family characteristics.

LASTHENIA

GOLDFIELDS

Robert Ornduff

Annual, perennial herb, glabrous or hairy
Stem generally branched, generally erect, < 60 cm
Leaves opposite, < 20 cm, entire to pinnately cut
Inflorescence: heads radiate, solitary or in cymes; phyllaries in 1 or 2 series, free or partly fused; receptacle narrowly conic to hemispheric, naked, smooth, pitted, or rough
Ray flowers 4–21; ligules generally yellow
Disk flowers generally many; corollas generally 5-lobed, generally yellow; anther tips acuminate to triangular; style tips triangular or round, generally hair-tufted
Fruit < 5 mm, cylindric to obovoid, black or gray; pappus of awns, scales, or 0
Species in genus: 17 species: w North America, Chile
Etymology: (Greek: female pupil of Plato)
Reference: [Ornduff 1966 Univ Calif Publ Bot 40:1–92]
Generally self-incompatible (cross-pollinated).

Native

L. microglossa (A.DC.) Greene

Annual < 25 cm
Stem sprawling or erect, simple or much-branched, hairy
Leaves 1.5–8 cm, linear or awl-shaped, ± entire, hairy
Inflorescence: involucre 6–8.5 mm, cylindric to narrowly obconic; phyllaries ± 4, hairy; receptacle narrowly conic, glabrous
Ray flowers ± 4; ligules < 1 mm or sometimes 0
Disk flowers few; corolla generally 4-lobed; anther tips narrowly tapered; style tips lanceolate, glabrous
Fruit < 5 mm, ± linear, hairy; pappus of < 4 scales, each lanceolate, yellowish or white, awn-tipped, or 0
Chromosomes: 2n=24
Ecology: Shaded slopes
Elevation: < 1000 m.
Bioregional distribution: Inner North Coast Ranges, Sacramento Valley (1 collection), San Francisco Bay Area, South Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, Mojave Desert
Flowering time: Mar–May
Mostly self-pollinated.