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.

BRICKELLIA

BRICKELLBUSH

A. Michael Powell

Perennial from ± woody caudex or shrub (rarely annual)
Leaves alternate or opposite, simple, veiny, generally resinous-dotted
Inflorescence: heads discoid, generally clustered; involucre cylindric to bell-shaped; phyllaries overlapping, strongly nerved; receptacle generally flat, chaff 0
Flowers: corollas cylindric, ± white or tinged red; anther bases rounded or slightly cordate, tips ovate; style branches long, club-shaped, tips rounded
Fruit 10-ribbed, generally cylindric, hairy; pappus generally of many, generally scabrous bristles
Etymology: (John Brickell, early botanist in Georgia)
Reference: [King & Robinson 1987 Monogr Syst Bot Missouri Bot Gard 22:220–224]

Native

B. greenei A. Gray

Perennial 2–5 dm, leafy
Stems many, ± simple, glandular-hairy, sticky
Leaves alternate, short-petioled; blades 1.5–3 cm, ovate, generally serrate, glandular, sticky
Inflorescence: heads 17–20 mm, generally solitary (in cymes), subtended by bracts; involucre widely cylindric; phyllaries ± 40, overlapping, linear, 2–4-veined, greenish or straw-colored, glandular-puberulent, tips rounded to acute, erect
Flowers ± 60
Fruit ± 7 mm
Chromosomes: 2n=18
Ecology: Common. Among rocks
Elevation: 900–2700 m.
Bioregional distribution: Northwestern California (except Outer North Coast Ranges), High Cascade Range, n High Sierra Nevada
Distribution outside California: Oregon
Horticultural information: TRY; STBL.