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.

CHAENACTIS

PINCUSHION

James D. Morefield

Annual to subshrubs, generally ± hairy
Leaves alternate or basal, generally petioled, reduced upward, entire and linear or generally elliptic to ovate or obovate and 1–4-pinnately lobed; 1° lobes longest near middle or base of blade
Inflorescence: heads discoid (but outer flowers often enlarged, ± ray-like), 1–many per stem, generally in terminal cymes; peduncle generally hairy like phyllary bases; involucre generally < 15 mm diam, cylindric to obconic or hemispheric; phyllaries in 1–2 ± equal series, generally linear to lanceolate, tips generally ± flat, generally ± green; receptacle flat to rounded, generally naked
Flowers 10–many; corollas radial (outer, if enlarged, ± bilateral), generally white to pinkish or yellow, generally opening in daytime; anthers generally exserted
Fruit club-shaped, generally not compressed, stiffly hairy; pappus 0 or of 4–20 fringed scales in 1–few series
Species in genus: 18 species: w North America
Etymology: (Greek: gaping ray, from enlarged outer corollas of some)
Reference: [Mooring 1980 Amer J Bot 67:1304–1309]
Spp. of sect. Chaenactis hybridize.

Native

C. douglasii (Hook.) Hook. & Arn.

Perennial, biennial(?), sometimes flowering first year
Stems 1–several, erect to spreading, < 50 cm, generally thinly grayish cobwebby; hairs thinning with age
Leaves < 15 cm, generally cobwebby to ± tomentose, not fleshy; basal rosette ± persistent; largest blades generally 2-pinnately lobed, 1° lobes 3–7 pairs, ± crowded, longest near middle, tips curled
Inflorescence: heads 1–many per stem; peduncles < 10 cm; involucre obconic to hemispheric, generally glandular-hairy; longest phyllaries 9–14 mm, tips generally erect, ± rigid, blunt
Flowers: corollas radial, 5–8 mm, white to pinkish, outer somewhat enlarged
Fruit 5–8 mm; pappus scales 8–20 in indistinct series, ± equal, longest generally 3–6 mm
Ecology: Dry, open often disturbed areas, alpine crevices
Elevation: 1000–3500 m.
Bioregional distribution: Northwestern California, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Great Basin Floristic Province, n Desert Mountains
Distribution outside California: to British Columbia, Montana, Colorado, Arizona

Native

var. douglasii

DUSTY MAIDENS

Perennial, biennial(?), sometimes flowering first year, generally branched below middle
Stems < 50 cm
Leaves < 15 cm
Inflorescence: heads (1)3–many per stem in a ± leafy cyme; longest phyllaries 11–14 mm
Chromosomes: 2n=12,24,36 (extra chromosomes also reported)
Ecology: Dry, open often disturbed areas
Elevation: 1000–3500 m.
Bioregional distribution: Northwestern California, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Great Basin Floristic Province, n Desert Mountains
Distribution outside California: to British Columbia, Montana, Colorado, n Arizona
Flowering time: Summer
Synonyms: vars. achilleifolia (Hook. & Arn.) A. Gray, montana M.E. Jones, rubricaulis (Rydb.) Ferris; C. ramosa Stockw
More distinctive variants occur outside CA
Horticultural information: DRN: 1, 15, 16 &IRR: 2, 3, 7, 18; DFCLT.