Enceliopsis argophylla

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Enceliopsis argophylla
Enceliopsis argophylla 4.jpg
In Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Enceliopsis
Species:
E. argophylla
Binomial name
Enceliopsis argophylla
Synonyms [1]
  • Encelia argophylla(D.C.Eaton) A.Gray
  • Helianthella argophylla(D.C.Eaton) A.Gray
  • Tithonia argophyllaD.C.Eaton

Enceliopsis argophylla, commonly known as the silverleaf sunray, [2] is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include nakedstem sunray and naked-stemmed daisy. It is native to the southwestern United States: Arizona (Mohave County), Nevada (Clark County), and Utah (Washington County), [3] and can be seen a short distance east of Las Vegas, Nevada. [2]

Contents

Habit, Lake Mead National Recreation Area Enceliopsis argophylla 3.jpg
Habit, Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Description

Enceliopsis argophylla is a perennial herb up to 80 cm (2.6 ft) tall, appearing silvery because of many small hairs pressed against the leaves. Leaf blades are up to 10 cm (3.9 in) long, with wings running along the sides of the petioles. Appearing in April and May, the flower heads are yellow, at the ends of long peduncles, each head with as many as 35 ray florets and up to 500 tiny disc florets. The achene is strongly flattened, covered with small hairs, and sometimes with a pappus of 2 awns up to 2 mm long (unlike some of the related species). [4] [5] [6]

American botanist Daniel Cady Eaton described the silverleaf sunray as Tithonia argophylla in 1871. [5]

Distribution and habitat

Found in Clark and Mohave Counties in the vicinity of the artificial reservoir Lake Mead, [2] it grows on stony barren slopes at 1,000 to 1,500 m (3,300 to 4,900 ft) altitude. [4] It often grows alongside the rare golden bear-claw poppy or Las Vegas bear-poppy Arctomecon californica . Both plants grow in a fragile gypsum crust on the soil, which when damaged facilitates the spread of invasive plants. Its habitat is threatened by the reservoir as well as off-road recreational vehicle use. [2]

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<i>Olearia argophylla</i> Species of shrub

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<i>Arnica longifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

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

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

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

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<i>Bidens laevis</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Enceliopsis covillei</i> Species of flowering plant

Enceliopsis covillei, known by the common name Panamint daisy, is a rare North American desert species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.

<i>Enceliopsis nudicaulis</i> Species of flowering plant

Enceliopsis nudicaulis is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common name nakedstem sunray, or naked-stemmed daisy.

<i>Arctomecon californica</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Mentzelia leucophylla</i> Species of flowering plant

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References

  1. The Plant List, Enceliopsis argophylla (D.C.Eaton) A. Nelson
  2. 1 2 3 4 Still, Shannon; Jensen, Nick (20 February 2013). "My Chicago Botanical Garden, A Rare Plant Portrait: The Silverleaf Sunray (Enceliopsis argophylla)". My Chicago Botanic Garden. Chicago Botanic Garden. Retrieved 22 June 2015. photos plus info on ecology and conservation
  3. "County distribution map". Biota of North America Program. 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Enceliopsis argophylla (D. C. Eaton) A. Nelson". Flora of North America. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  5. 1 2 Eaton, Daniel Cady (1871). Watson, Sereno (ed.). Botany. United States Geological Exploration [sic] of the Fortieth Parallel. Vol. 5. p. 423.
  6. Sanders, D. L. and C. Clark. 1987. Comparative morphology of the capitulum of Enceliopsis. American Journal of Botany 74: 1072–1086.