Chloracantha

Last updated

Chloracantha
Imperial Valley settlers' crop manual (1911) (14782618445).jpg
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
(unranked):
(unranked):
(unranked):
Order:
Family:
Subfamily:
Tribe:
Genus:
Chloracantha

G.L.Nesom, et al.
Species:
C. spinosa
Binomial name
Chloracantha spinosa
(Benth.) G.L.Nesom
Synonyms [1]
  • Erigeron sect. Spinosi(Alexander) G.L.Nesom & Sundberg
  • Aster sect. Spinosi(Alexander) A.G.Jones
  • Aster spinosusBenth.
  • Erigeron ortegaeS.F.Blake
  • Leucosyris spinosa(Benth.) Greene

Chloracantha is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the aster family, containing the single species Chloracantha spinosa. It is distributed in the southwestern and south-central United States (CA NV AZ UT NM TX OK LA), [2] most of Mexico, and much of Central America. [3] Its English language common names include spiny chloracantha, spiny aster, devilweed aster, and Mexican devilweed. [4] In Spanish it is known as espina de agua, espinaza, and espinosilla. [5]

This species is a perennial herb or subshrub; its green stems look more herbaceous than woody, "but it behaves more like a subshrub", [6] with its tough stems living for several years and rapidly developing vascular cambia. The stems are hairless and sometimes waxy in texture, and some of the lateral branches may be sharply angled and reduced in size, becoming thorns. The alternately arranged leaves persist for only a short time and then fall away. Large colonies of these bare stems proliferate from a robust rhizomes. The stems usually reach a maximum height around 1.5 meters, but can well exceed 2 meters at times. They bear loose arrays of many flower heads each roughly half a centimeter long and wide. The head is lined with layers of hairless phyllaries. It contains up to 33 coiling white ray florets and many yellow disc florets. The fruit is a cypsela with a pappus of many barbed bristles. [6]

This plant is known from dry habitat and moist spots, such as streambanks and seeps. It tolerates some saline habitat types. [7]

varieties [1]
  1. Chloracantha spinosa var. spinosa
  2. Chloracantha spinosa var. jaliscensis(McVaugh) S.D. Sundb. - Jalisco, Nayarit
  3. Chloracantha spinosa var. spinosissima(Brandegee) S.D.Sundb. - Baja California
  4. Chloracantha spinosa var. strictospinosaS.D.Sundb. - Chiapas, Michoacán, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama

Related Research Articles

<i>Euthamia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Euthamia is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae. They are known as goldentops and grass-leaved goldenrods.

<i>Berlandiera</i> Genus of flowering plants

Berlandiera is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae.

<i>Symphyotrichum frondosum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to western North America and Mexico

Symphyotrichum frondosum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to western North America. Commonly known as short-rayed alkali aster, it is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant that may reach 140 centimeters tall.

<i>Silphium integrifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

Silphium integrifolium is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. Its common names include rosinweed, whole-leaf rosinweed, entire-leaf rosinweed, prairie rosinweed, and silflower. It is native to eastern North America, including Ontario in Canada and the eastern and central United States as far west as New Mexico.

<i>Grindelia ciliata</i> Species of flowering plant

Grindelia ciliata is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names Spanish gold, goldenweed, and waxed goldenweed.

<i>Pyrrocoma carthamoides</i>

Pyrrocoma carthamoides is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name largeflower goldenweed. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northeastern California to Wyoming, where it is known from grassland, woodlands, forests, barren areas, and other habitat. It is a perennial herb growing from a taproot and producing one or more stems to about half a meter in maximum length, the stems reddish-green and leafy. The largest leaves are at the base of the stem, measuring up to 20 centimeters long, lance-shaped with spiny sawtoothed edges. Leaves higher on the stem are smaller and hairier. The inflorescence is a single flower head or a cluster of up to four. Each bell-shaped head is lined with phyllaries each up to 2 centimeters long. It has many yellow disc florets surrounded by a fringe of yellow ray florets up to 7 millimeters long; ray florets are occasionally absent. The fruit is an achene which may be well over a centimeter in length including its pappus.

<i>Senecio blochmaniae</i> Species of flowering plant

Senecio blochmaniae is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names dune ragwort and Blochman's ragwort. It is endemic to the Central Coast of California, where it is known only from the direct coastline of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. It grows in sand dunes and sandy areas on coastal floodplains. It is a subshrub producing several arching stems often well exceeding a meter tall from a thick taproot. The stems are covered in many leaves, which are linear in shape, thick, and measure up to 12 centimeters long. The lower leaves become dry and curl up. The flower heads are lined by about 13 green-tipped phyllaries. They contain many yellow disc florets and each has usually 8 narrow yellow ray florets about a centimeter long.

<i>Packera bolanderi</i> Species of flowering plant

Packera bolanderi is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Bolander's ragwort and seacoast ragwort. It is native to the west coast of the United States from Washington to northern California, where it grows in wet coastal forests and woodlands. There are two varieties of the species which differ slightly in morphology and habitat occupied; these varieties have been considered separate species by some authors. The var. bolanderi has thicker leaves, occurs farther south, and occupies more open types of habitat, than does var. harfordii. This plant in general is a perennial herb producing one to three stems up to half a meter tall. The basal leaves have blades up to 12 centimeters long which are divided into several lobes and borne on long, thin petioles. Leaves growing farther up the stem are smaller and have more lobes on their blades. The inflorescence contains several flower heads, each lined with dark green phyllaries. The head contains many golden yellow disc florets and generally either 8 or 13 yellow ray florets each over a centimeter long. The fruit is an achene tipped with a pappus of bristles.

<i>Senecio serra</i> Species of flowering plant

Senecio serra is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names tall ragwort and sawtooth groundsel. It is native to the western United States, where it can be found in several types of habitat, including sagebrush and woodlands. It is a perennial herb producing a single erect stem or a cluster of stems from a branched, woody caudex. The plant can exceed two meters in height. It is hairless in texture, with young plants sometimes appearing fuzzy, and green to red-tinged in color. The leaves have lance-shaped blades up to 20 centimeters long borne on short petioles, the leaves occurring evenly all along the stems. The inflorescence is a spreading array of many flower heads, each lined with green- or black-tipped phyllaries. The heads contain yellow disc florets and 5 to 8 yellow ray florets each under a centimeter long.

<i>Senecio spartioides</i> Species of flowering plant

Senecio spartioides is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name broom-like ragwort. It is native to the western United States as far east as the Dakotas and Texas, and northern Mexico. It can be found in dry, rocky, often disturbed areas in a number of habitat types. It is a subshrub which can exceed a meter in height, its arching stems growing from a woody-topped taproot. The leaves are linear in shape and up to 10 centimeters long. The leaves usually have smooth, unlobed edges, but slightly lobed leaves are seen at times. The leaves are evenly distributed along the stems, the ones low on the stems withering away early, giving the plant a naked appearance on the lower half while the top is still lush green and blooming. The inflorescences are spreading, flat-topped arrays of many cylindrical flower heads. The heads contain yellow disc florets and generally either 5 or 8 ray florets each about a centimeter long.

Stephanomeria elata is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Santa Barbara wirelettuce and Nuttall's wirelettuce. It is native to Oregon and California, where it grows in coastal and inland mountain ranges, including the Sierra Nevada. It can be found in many types of habitat. It is an annual herb producing a slender, erect stem often exceeding one meter in maximum height. It is hairy to hairless and often glandular. The leaves are mostly located in a basal rosette, the largest reaching 10 centimeters long. Smaller, much-reduced leaves occur farther up the stem. The leaves drop early, leaving the plant naked for most of the year. Flowers occur singly or in small clusters along the stiff branches. Each head contains up to 15 or 16 ray florets, each with an elongated tube and a pink ligule 6 or 7 millimeters long. The fruit is an achene tipped with a spreading cluster of long, plumelike pappus bristles.

<i>Stephanomeria pauciflora</i>

Stephanomeria pauciflora is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names brownplume wirelettuce, few-flowered wirelettuce, and prairie skeletonplant. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in many types of habitat, including many desert areas, woodlands, and plains. It is a perennial herb or bushy subshrub producing one or more sturdy, stiff stems with many spreading branches, taking a rounded but vertical form. The leaves are mostly basal and ephemeral, with smaller, scale-like leaves occurring on the upper stem. Flower heads occur at intervals along the mostly naked stems, especially near the tips. Each has a cylindrical base covered in hairless phyllaries. It contains 3 to 6 florets, each with an elongated tube and a flat pink ligule. The fruit is an achene tipped with a spreading cluster of plumelike pappus bristles. These are usually brownish, but are sometimes white. The specific epithet pauciflora, refers to the Latin term for 'few flowered'.

<i>Pleiacanthus</i>

Pleiacanthus is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the aster family containing the single species Pleiacanthus spinosus, which is known by the common name thorn skeletonweed, or thorny skeletonweed. It is native to the western United States from Montana and Idaho to southern California and Arizona, where it grows in many types of mostly dry habitat from deserts to mountains. It is a spindly subshrub producing several slender stems up to 40 or 50 centimeters tall from a woody caudex. The stems divide many times into short, rigid branches which narrow to sharp thorn-tips. The plant is mostly hairless except for brownish woolly tufts at the base and below the basal leaves. The leaves are small and linear on the lower stem, and reduced to scale-like growths on the upper branches. Flower heads occur near the ends of the branches. Each has a cylindrical base wrapped in one layer of phyllaries. The head contains 3 to 5 ray florets, each with an elongated tube and a pale to bright pink ligule. The fruit is an achene tipped with a cluster of pappus bristles which are not plumelike as are those of the Stephanomeria species with which this plant was once classified.

<i>Xylorhiza tortifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Xylorhiza tortifolia is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, known by the common names Mojave-aster and Mojave woodyaster.

Herrickia horrida is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name horrid herrickia. It is native to Colorado and New Mexico in the United States, where it occurs only in the Animas River basin. It is often included in genus Eurybia.

<i>Solidago missouriensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago missouriensis is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Missouri goldenrod and prairie goldenrod. It is native to North America, where it is widespread across much of Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It grows from British Columbia east to Manitoba, south as far as Sonora, Coahuila, Texas, and Mississippi.

<i>Symphyotrichum lanceolatum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to much of North America

Symphyotrichum lanceolatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to North America. Common names include panicled aster, lance-leaved aster, and white panicled aster. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 1.5 meters tall or more, sometimes approaching 2 meters. The lance-shaped leaves are generally hairless but may feel slightly rough to the touch on the top because of tiny bristles. The flowers grow in clusters and branch in panicles. They have 16–50 white ray florets that are up to 14 millimeters long and sometimes tinged pink or purple. The flower centers consist of disk florets that begin as yellow and become purple as they mature.

<i>Ericameria parryi</i> Species of flowering plant

Ericameria parryi is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Parry's rabbitbrush. It is native to much of the western United States.

<i>Symphyotrichum subulatum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to the Americas

Symphyotrichum subulatum, commonly known as eastern annual saltmarsh aster or, in Britain and Ireland where it is naturalized, annual saltmarsh aster, is an annual plant in the family Asteraceae native to the eastern United States and the Gulf Coast to Texas. The species grows primarily in coastal salt marshes, although in the Ozarks it occurs as a non-marine weedy variety.

<i>Symphyotrichum divaricatum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to the Americas

Symphyotrichum divaricatum is an annual and herbaceous plant commonly known as southern annual saltmarsh aster. It is native to the southern United States and some northern states of Mexico.

References

  1. 1 2 Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist Archived 2014-11-13 at archive.today
  2. Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map
  3. "Chloracantha spinosa". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  4. Chloracantha spinosa. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
  5. Chloracantha spinosa. Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden.
  6. 1 2 Chloracantha. Flora of North America.
  7. Chloracantha spinosa var. spinosa. The Jepson eFlora 2013.