Lasthenia ferrisiae

Lasthenia ferrisiae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Genus: Lasthenia
Species: L. ferrisiae
Binomial name
Lasthenia ferrisiae
Ornduff

Lasthenia ferrisiae is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name Ferris' goldfields. It is endemic to the California Central Valley, where it grows in vernal pools and alkali flats.

Description

Lasthenia ferrisiae is an annual herb approaching a maximum height near 40 centimeters. It is variable in appearance and similar to other species of goldfields (Lasthenia); it is probably the result of a cross between Lasthenia chrysantha and Lasthenia glabrata, which grow throughout its range. The stem may be branched or not and it bears hairless, linear leaves up to 8 centimeters long.

Atop the hairless or sparsely hairy stems are inflorescences of flower heads with fused, hairless phyllaries. The head contains many yellow disc florets with a fringe of small yellow ray florets.

The fruit is a flat, oval-shaped achene up to about 2 millimeters long.

Media related to Lasthenia species at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/1/2012. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.