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.

ERICAMERIA

GOLDENBUSH

Gregory K. Brown and David J. Keil

Shrubs < 50 dm, resinous, generally gland-dotted
Leaves < 10 cm, thread-like to wedge-shaped, entire
Inflorescence various; heads radiate or discoid; involucre 3–14 mm, obconic to hemispheric; phyllaries in 2–6 series, ± lanceolate to ovate, generally resinous, tips erect to recurved, obtuse to acuminate or tailed, midrib often thickened with a resin gland
Ray flowers 0–30; corollas 2–12 mm, generally yellow
Disk flowers 4–70+; corollas 3–11 mm, yellow
Fruit 2–8 mm, ribbed; pappus white to brown
Species in genus: ± 27 species: w North America
Reference: [Nesom 1990 Phytologia 68:144–155]
Generally flowers summer/autumn. Some species hybridize with Chrysothamnus nauseosus.

Native

E. parishii (Greene) H.M. Hall var. parishii

Plant 15–50 dm, very leafy, glabrous
Leaf 20–60 mm, ± elliptic, acute, leathery
Inflorescence: heads discoid, in dense, terminal cymes; involucre 5–6.5 mm, 3–4 mm diam, obconic; phyllaries ± lanceolate, acute, whitish, midrib thick, brown
Disk flowers 8–18; corollas 5–6 mm
Fruit 2–2.5 mm, obconic, minutely hairy, veins 12 or fewer; pappus > disk corollas, copious, dull white to brown
Chromosomes: 2n=18
Ecology: Dry slopes, chaparral, open forest, especially after fires
Elevation: 400–2200 m.
Bioregional distribution: San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains, Peninsular Ranges
Synonyms: Haplopappus p. (Greene) S.F. Blake
Var. peninsularis (Moran) G.L. Nesom in n Baja CA. Sometimes treated as subsp. of E. arborescens
Horticultural information: TRY.