| Monolopia major | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Monolopia |
| Species: | M. major |
| Binomial name | |
| Monolopia major | |
Monolopia major is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name cupped monolopia.
Monolopia major is endemic to Central California with known extant populations in the Inner North Coast Ranges and Inner South Coast Ranges. The species is frequently confused with Monolopia lanceolata , with the two being very similar in appearance. The two can be distinguished by M. major having fused phyllaries - fused into a cup; most obvious at after senescence and fruits have dispersed. In comparison, M. lanceolata has free phyllaries. Due to woolly hairs on the phyllaries obscuring the free phyllary margins, they may appear fused, but gentle separation reveals that they are free. Other differences in the species are that the rays of M. major appear a pure, vibrant yellow, whereas the rays of M. lanceolata are a lighter yellow that often appears faded near the tips.
Monolopia major has very high to strict edaphic affinity for clay soils, particularly vertic clay (smectite; montmorillonite) soils. M. lanceolata typically may grow on all soil textures from sandy to clayey, but M. major only grows on clayey soils. M. major appears to only occur where average annual precipitation is greater than about 11 inches per year (chaparral, blue oak woodland), whereas M. lanceolata can occur at average annual precipitation greater than 11 inches per year, but also at precipitation levels as low as 6 inches per year (San Joaquin Valley Desert; saltbrush scrub). Most known large populations of M. major are distributed around San Benito Mountain in southern San Benito County.
Monolopia major is an annual herb producing a slender, sometimes branching stem up to about 80 centimeters tall. It is usually somewhat woolly in texture.
The inflorescences at the ends of stem branches bear small hemispheric flower heads with fused phyllaries. The golden, yellow, or cream-colored ray florets are up to 2 centimeters long and have three-lobed tips. They surround a center of many disc florets.
The fruit is an achene about 2 to 4 millimeters long.
Eriophyllum latilobum, the San Mateo woolly sunflower, is a perennial herb of sharply limited range, endemic and occurring only in the state of California, United States. This flowering plant of the family Asteraceae has been listed as an endangered species by the U.S. federal government as well as the state of California.
Hulsea algida is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family, known by the common name Pacific hulsea or alpine gold.
Hulsea californica is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names San Diego alpinegold and San Diego sunflower. It is endemic to southern California, where it grows only in the Peninsular Ranges.
Layia jonesii is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Jones' tidytips, or Jones' layia.
Monolopia congdonii is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name San Joaquin woollythread. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the southern San Joaquin Valley and one area in nearby Santa Barbara County. It is a federally listed endangered species.
Eriophyllum mohavense, also known as the Mojave woolly sunflower or the Barstow woolly sunflower, is a rare species of small annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, found only (endemic) in the Mojave Desert of California.
Lessingia arachnoidea is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Crystal Springs lessingia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from a few occurrences in the vicinity of Crystal Springs Reservoir on the San Francisco Peninsula and southward to serpentine soil in Woodside. It may also exist in Sonoma County to the north. The plant grows in chaparral, scrub, grasslands and other local plant communities, on serpentine soils.
Lessingia hololeuca is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name woollyhead lessingia.
Lessingia lemmonii is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Lemmon's lessingia. It is native to the western United States around the intersection of Nevada, Arizona, and California, where it grows in desert and other habitat with sandy soils. This is an annual herb producing gray-green woolly stems in a low clump just a few centimeters high to a relatively erect 40 centimeters tall. The leaves are narrow and small, under 2 centimeters long, with much larger leaves appearing around the base of the young plant and withering away early. The flower heads appear singly or in open arrays. Each head has a bell- to bullet-shaped involucre lined with hairy to woolly phyllaries. The head is discoid, containing no ray florets but many funnel-shaped yellow disc florets with long lobes. The florets often have white markings in the throats. The fruit is an achene with a whitish or brownish pappus of bristles.
Lessingia micradenia is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Mt. Tamalpais lessingia. It is endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where it occurs in areas with serpentine soils. The species is divided into two rare varieties, each with a limited occurrence on opposite sides of the Bay Area. Lessingia micradenia var. glabrata is found in several locations across Santa Clara County south of San Jose, while var. micradenia is known only from a few spots around Mount Tamalpais in Marin County.
Lessingia tenuis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name spring lessingia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the San Francisco Bay Area to Ventura County. It grows on the slopes of the California Coast Ranges in common local habitat such as chaparral.
Monolopia gracilens is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name woodland monolopia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the mountains of the San Francisco Bay Area and ranges just to the south. It grows in grassland, chaparral, woodland, and other habitat, often on serpentine soils. It is an annual herb producing a slender, branching stem up to about 80 centimeters tall. It is usually somewhat woolly in texture. The inflorescences at the ends of stem branches bear small hemispheric flower heads. The golden ray florets are up to a centimeter long and surround a center of many disc florets. The fruit is an achene about 2 millimeters long.
Monolopia lanceolata, the hillside daisy or common monolopia, is a species of flowering plant in the famiily Asteraceae. It is endemic to the southern half of California, where it grows in many types of habitat, including coastal and valley grassland, chaparral, woodland, and desert.
Monolopia stricta is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Crum's monolopia. It is endemic to central California, where it grows in the Central Valley and its flanking mountain ranges and foothills. It open grasslands and chaparral, often in clay soils. It is an annual herb producing a slender, sometimes branching stem up to about 80 centimeters tall. It is usually somewhat woolly in texture. The inflorescences at the ends of stem branches bear small hemispheric flower heads. The golden ray florets are usually about 1 to 2 centimeters long, but specimens from the western San Joaquin Valley have smaller florets.
Pseudobahia bahiifolia is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Hartweg's golden sunburst.
Pseudobahia peirsonii is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names San Joaquin adobe sunburst and Tulare pseudobahia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from a few mostly small occurrences along the southeastern side of the San Joaquin Valley where it rises into the Sierra Nevada foothills. It grows in grassland and oak woodland habitat. It prefers heavy adobe clay soils. The plant became a federally listed threatened of the United States in 1997.
Pyrrocoma lanceolata is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name lanceleaf goldenweed. It is native to western North America from central Canada to northeastern California to Colorado, where it grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed places and areas with wet, alkali soils. It is a widespread and variable plant. It is a perennial herb growing one or more stems up to about half a meter long. The stems are decumbent or upright, reddish, usually somewhat hairy to quite woolly, and glandular toward the ends of the stems. The largest leaves are at the base of the plant, each measuring up to 30 centimeters in maximum length. They are generally lance-shaped with sawtoothed edges. The inflorescence bears several, up to 50, flower heads lined with reddish to green phyllaries. Each contains yellow disc florets and ray florets. The fruit is an achene up to a centimeter long including its pappus.
Pyrrocoma racemosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name clustered goldenweed. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is quite variable in morphology, and there are several varieties which are sometimes hard to tell apart. In general, it is a perennial herb usually producing two or more mostly erect stems reaching maximum heights between 15 and 90 centimeters. The stems are reddish or brownish in color, leafy or not, and hairless to quite woolly. The longest leaves are located in tufts around the base of the stems. They are lance-shaped to oval, smooth-edged, wavy, or deeply spine-toothed, and may exceed 30 centimeters in length. Basal leaves are borne on woolly petioles. Leaves located higher on the stem lack petioles and may clasp the stem at their bases. The inflorescence is a cluster of several flower heads lined with phyllaries which may be over a centimeter long and are hairy to hairless in texture. Each head contains many yellow disc florets and a fringe of several yellow ray florets. The fruit is an achene which may be over a centimeter long including its pappus.
Senecio aphanactis, known by the common names chaparral ragwort, rayless ragwort, and California groundsel, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family.
Packera eurycephala is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name widehead groundsel. It is native to a section of the western United States encompassing southern Oregon, northern California, and northern Nevada. It can be found in dry habitat types, often in disturbed areas, and it favors serpentine soils.