Stephanomeria paniculata
Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 428. 1841.
Common names: Stiff-branched wirelettuce
Endemic
Annuals, 0–100 cm. Stems single, branched (branches nearly at right angles, stiff), glabrous. Leaves withered at flowering; basal blades oblanceolate, 6–10 cm, margins entire or toothed (teeth minute, faces glabrous); cauline much reduced, bractlike. Heads borne singly along branches or in paniculiform arrays. Peduncles 2–10 mm. Calyculi of appressed bractlets. Involucres 6–9 mm. Florets 5. Cypselae light to dark tan, 3.8–4.2 mm, faces slightly bumpy to tuberculate, (grooved); pappi of 15–18 tan bristles (connate in groups of 2–4, bases persistent), plumose to tops of bases. 2n = 16.
Phenology: Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat: Open, sandy or volcanic soils, plains and foothills, often growing as weed along roads
Elevation: 200–1400 m
Distribution
Calif., Idaho, Oreg., Wash.
Discussion
Selected References
None.
Lower Taxa
None.