Verbesina occidentalis | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Verbesina |
Species: | V. occidentalis |
Binomial name | |
Verbesina occidentalis | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Verbesina occidentalis is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. The common names for Verbesina occidentalis are yellow crownbeard and stick weed. [2] Verbesina occidentalis is often considered a weedy plant of disturbed areas, due its presence in managed agricultural areas such as hayfields.
The average height for Verbesina occidentalis is a yard tall. The plant has potential to grow to 2 yards in height. [2] Verbesina occidentalis has yellow disk flowers. The number of ray flowers will range anywhere from two to five petals. The most common petal number is two. [3] The flowers are sparse and are not evenly arranged around the head of the flower. This makes the plant looks like it is uneven or off balance. A distinctive feature of the plant is its winged stem. The plant is a perennial and will bloom during the late summer. The leaves are opposite in arrangement. [4] The leaves are broad and ovate in shape. The leaves are typically 2 1/3 to 4 3/4 inches in length. The width of the leaves are usually eight to 3 to 6 1/3 inches wide. The leaves are glabrous which gives it a smooth surface. The leaves will start to taper towards the apex. Verbesina occidentalis leaves have a serrated or toothed margin. [5]
Verbesina occidentalis prefers sunny habits. Verbesina occidentalis can live in partially sunny habitats but, it will not grow as well. The plant requires moderate amounts of moisture. Verbesina occidentalis needs the soil to be at least moderately nutrient. Verbesina occidentalis frequently occurs in pastures and hayfields. It can also be found at roadsides, fencerows, parking lots, creek sides and forested areas. [6] Verbesina occidentalis is native to the United States. It is native to every southeastern state except for Arkansas. The range of the plant extends as far west as Texas and as far east as Delaware. The most northern state that Verbesina occidentalis is found in is Pennsylvania. The most southern state that Verbesina occidentalis is found in is Florida. [7]
The genus most closely related to Verbesina is Sphagneticola . Together, Verbisina and Sphagneticola form a clade. The next most closely genera are Calyptocarpus and Eclipta . [8] Verbesina alternifolia is the sister species.[ citation needed ]
Verbesina occidentalis can be used in the home garden for insect control because it attracts the predatory soldier beetle (family Cantharidae).
Verbesina occidentalis attracts the soldier beetle (family Cantharidae) for two reasons. First, the soldier beetle is attracted to the plant due to its yellow coloration, allowing the soldier beetle to hide among the flowers. Second, the soldier beetle will drink the nectar from the plant. This does not harm the plant. Both the adult and larva of the soldier beetle prey on other insects. The adult soldier beetles eat aphids, caterpillars, grasshopper eggs and mites. The larva of the soldier beetle hatches in the spring. The larval soldier beetle preys upon insect eggs, other larva, snails, and slugs. It lays its eggs in the late summer. [9]
Verbesina occidentalis has been shown to be one of the plants that is sensitive to the rising ozone levels. Due to the rising of ozone levels Verbesina occidentalis has been shown to have foliar ozone injury. Foliar ozone injury results in visible damage to the plant. Foliar ozone injury tends to be worse in more sun exposed leaves. In the Smokey Mountain National Park approximately fifty percent of the plants sampled showed symptoms of foliar ozone injury. Approximately seventeen percent of the leaves sampled were injured. The percent of plants injured increases as the elevation increases. [10] The stippling may become more prominent in late summer. It may begin as a few stipples that are angular in shape. The coloring of the stippling may range from a light reddish-purple to black. In prolonged cases the leaves will become yellow color and may eventually die. [11]
Verbesina occidentalis has been shown to affect the diversity of the plant community and the density of the other plants present. With the removal of Verbesina occidentalis the evenness and the Shannon diversity has been shown to increase. Shannon diversity index is a measurement of the diversity of the community. Forbs and woody plants are some the plants that are more sensitive to Verbesina occidentalis. N-fixers and grasses are also sensitive to Verbesina occidentalis. [12]
Verbesina occidentalis is considered problematic for farmers. The legume and hay field farmers seem to be some of the most negatively affected by Verbesina occidentalis due to competition. In some severe cases farmers will see a reduction in crop yields. In the past natural forms of control has been used. The use of goats for control of Verbesina occidentalis is unsuccessful since the goats will not consume the plant. [13] The most successful form of control are herbicides. Verbesina occidentalis can be controlled at a ninety three percent rate with two pints per acre of Grazon P+D herbicide. Redeem R&P herbicide was not as potent to Verbesina occidentalis. It took at least three pints of Redeem R&P to achieve the ninety three percent control rate. Crossbow 2,4-D alone would control Verbesina occidentalis up to a rate of eighty three percent. However, when Benvel herbicide is used alone the control rate for Verbesina occidentalis is less than fifty percent. There are many other herbicides that have used to control Verbesina occidentalis but, none had a profound impact. [14]
Nitrogen deficiency is a deficiency of nitrogen in plants. This can occur when organic matter with high carbon content, such as sawdust, is added to soil. Soil organisms use any nitrogen available to break down carbon sources, making nitrogen unavailable to plants. This is known as "robbing" the soil of nitrogen. All vegetables apart from nitrogen fixing legumes are prone to this disorder.
Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. It has ten species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are native only in eastern and central North America, where they grow in wet to dry prairies and open wooded areas. They have large, showy heads of composite flowers, blooming in summer. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ἐχῖνος, meaning "hedgehog", due to the spiny central disk. These flowering plants and their parts have different uses. Some species are cultivated in gardens for their showy flowers. Two of the species, E. tennesseensis and E. laevigata, were formerly listed in the United States as endangered species; E. tennesseensis has been delisted due to recovery and E. laevigata is now listed as threatened.
The London plane, or sometimes hybrid plane, Platanus × hispanica, is a tree in the genus Platanus. It is often known by the synonym Platanus × acerifolia, a later name. It is a hybrid of Platanus orientalis and Platanus occidentalis.
Solanum carolinense, the Carolina horsenettle, is not a true nettle, but a member of the Solanaceae, or nightshade family. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to the southeastern United States, though its range has expanded throughout much of temperate North America. The plant is an invasive in parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. The stem and undersides of larger leaf veins are covered with prickles.
Triadica sebifera is a tree native to eastern Asia. It is commonly called Chinese tallow, Chinese tallowtree, Florida aspen, chicken tree, gray popcorn tree, or candleberry tree.
In botany, chlorosis is a condition in which leaves produce insufficient chlorophyll. As chlorophyll is responsible for the green color of leaves, chlorotic leaves are pale, yellow, or yellow-white. The affected plant has little or no ability to manufacture carbohydrates through photosynthesis and may die unless the cause of its chlorophyll insufficiency is treated and this may lead to a plant disease called rusts, although some chlorotic plants, such as the albino Arabidopsis thaliana mutant ppi2, are viable if supplied with exogenous sucrose.
A leaf spot is a limited, discoloured, diseased area of a leaf that is caused by fungal, bacterial or viral plant diseases, or by injuries from nematodes, insects, environmental factors, toxicity or herbicides. These discoloured spots or lesions often have a centre of necrosis. Symptoms can overlap across causal agents, however differing signs and symptoms of certain pathogens can lead to the diagnosis of the type of leaf spot disease. Prolonged wet and humid conditions promote leaf spot disease and most pathogens are spread by wind, splashing rain or irrigation that carry the disease to other leaves.
Rudbeckia is a plant genus in the Asteraceae or composite family. Rudbeckia flowers feature a prominent, raised central disc in black, brown shades of green, and in-between tones, giving rise to their familiar common names of coneflowers and black-eyed-susans. All are native to North America, and many species are cultivated in gardens for their showy yellow or gold flower heads that bloom in mid to late summer.
Centaurea solstitialis, the yellow star-thistle, is a species of thorny plant in the genus Centaurea, which is part of the family Asteraceae. A winter annual, it is native to the Mediterranean Basin region and invasive in many other places. It is also known as golden starthistle, yellow cockspur and St. Barnaby's thistle.
A frost flower or ice flower is formed when thin layers of ice are extruded from long-stemmed plants in autumn or early winter. The thin layers of ice are often formed into exquisite patterns, curling into "petals" which resemble flowers.
Echinacea purpurea, the eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, hedgehog coneflower, or Echinacea, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to parts of eastern North America and present to some extent in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and midwestern United States, as well as in the Canadian Province of Ontario. It is most common in the Ozarks, the Mississippi Valley, and the Ohio Valley. Its habitats include dry open woods, prairies, and barrens.
Echinacea laevigata, the smooth purple coneflower, is a federally listed threatened species of plant found in the Piedmont of the eastern United States. Most populations are found on roadsides and other open areas with plenty of sunlight, often on calcium- and magnesium- rich soils.
Uromyces viciae-fabae var. viciae-fabae is a plant pathogen commonly known as faba-bean rust. The rust is distinguished by the typical rust-like marks on the stem and leaves, causing defoliation and loss of photosynthetic surface along with reduction in yield. The disease is fungal and is autoecious meaning it has one plant host. The rust of faba beans is macrocyclic, or contains 5 spores during its life cycle.
Strawberry foliar nematode, or strawberry crimp nematode, is a disease caused by Aphelenchoides fragariae, a plant pathogenic nematode. It is common in strawberries and ornamental plants and can greatly affect plant yield and appearance, resulting in a loss of millions of dollars of revenue. Symptoms used to diagnose the disease are angular, water soaked lesions and necrotic blotches. Aphelenchoides fragariae is the nematode pathogen that causes the disease. Its biological cycle includes four life stages, three of which are juvenile. The nematode can undergo multiple life cycles in one growing season when favorable conditions are present. The crowns, runners, foliage, and new buds of the plant via stylet penetration or through the stomata can be infected. The best management practices for this disease are sanitation, prevention of induction of the pathogen to the environment, and planting clean seed or starter plants.
Bangasternus orientalis is a species of true weevil known as the yellow starthistle bud weevil. It is used as an agent of biological pest control against the noxious weed yellow starthistle.
Linaria dalmatica is a herbaceous, short-lived perennial plant native to western Asia and southeastern Europe that has become a weed in other areas. The family this plant now belongs to is the Plantaginaceae Family. Previously, it belonged to the Scrophulariaceae (Figwort) family. Its common names include Balkan toadflax, broadleaf toadflax, and Dalmatian toadflax. Linaria dalmatica has unique yellow flowers with an orange center that draw individuals to purchase them to display in their gardens. The distribution of L. dalmatica to North America can be attributed to use as a fabric dye, folk remedies and as an ornamental plant. However, it is now classified as a weed in both Canada and the U.S.
Diabrotica balteata is a species of cucumber beetle in the family Chrysomelidae known commonly as the banded cucumber beetle. It occurs in the Americas, where its distribution extends from the United States to Colombia and Venezuela in South America. It is also present in Cuba. It is a pest of a variety of agricultural crops.
Botryotinia polyblastis is a fungal plant pathogen that causes Narcissus Fire of daffodils, genus Narcissus.
Verbesina alternifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is commonly known as wingstem or yellow ironweed. It is native to North America.