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.

LEPIDOSPARTUM

SCALE-BROOM

Theodore M. Barkley

Shrubs or small trees generally < 3 m, broom-like
Leaves alternate, entire, thread- to needle- or scale-like
Inflorescence: heads discoid, in panicle-like clusters at branch tips; involucre cylindric to obconic; phyllaries overlapping; receptacle naked
Ray flowers 0
Disk flowers 4–17; corollas yellow, tube long, throat abruptly wider, lobes long; anther bases sagittate to tailed, tips ± lanceolate; style branches long, tips conic or hair-tufted
Fruit ± fusiform; pappus many bristles in 3–4 series
Species in genus: 3 species: w North America
Etymology: (Greek: scale-broom)
Reference: [Strother 1978 North America Fl II 10:171–173]

Native

L. squamatum (A. Gray) A. Gray

Plant spreading, round-topped, woolly, soon becoming glabrous
Leaves of flower-stems 2–3 mm, scale-like, appressed; axils often woolly-tufted
Inflorescence: heads 1–5; main inner phyllaries 7–23, 4–7 mm, outer grading into subtending scale-like bracts
Flowers generally 9–17; corollas yellow
Fruit 3.5–5 mm, 10–15-veined, ± glabrous; pappus bristles 5–8 mm, whitish brown
Chromosomes: 2n=±90
Ecology: Sandy or gravelly washes, stream terraces
Elevation: < 1800 m.
Bioregional distribution: Sierra Nevada Foothills, South Coast Ranges, Southwestern California, Desert
Distribution outside California: Baja California
Flowering time: Aug–Oct
Synonyms: var. palmeri (A. Gray) L.C. Wheeler
Apparently TOXIC but unpalatable
Horticultural information: DRN, SUN: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.