''Agoseris aurantiaca'' is a species of plant in the family Asteraceae, commonly called orange agoseris or mountain dandelion. It is widespread in western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Description

''Agoseris aurantiaca'' is a perennial herb or subshrub growing to in height. It produces a basal rosette of leaves, which are long. There is no stem, but it does produce several stem-like peduncles. Between June and August, each peduncle bears a single flower head in width, surrounded by glabrous to hairy phyllaries. The head is ligulate, containing several ray florets but no disc florets. The florets are most commonly orange but are occasionally yellow, pink, red, or purple. "Aurantiaca" means "orange-red".Great Basin Wildflowers, Laird R. Blackwell, 2006, Morris Book Publishing LLC., The flower head matures into a ball-like head of beaked

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

s, each with a terminal pappus of numerous, white bristles.Flora of North America, ''Agoseris aurantiaca''
/ref> It is the only orange-flowered species in the genus, the others typically being yellow. ;Varieties *''Agoseris aurantiaca'' var. ''aurantiaca'' – most of species range *''Agoseris aurantiaca'' var. ''purpurea'' (A.Gray) Cronquist – southern Rocky Mountains

Distribution and habitat

The species is widespread and common in western

from Alaska and the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

in Canada southward to California, Arizona, and New Mexico, and eastward as far as the Rocky Mountains and the Black Hills. There are also isolated populations in the Chic-Choc Mountains on the Gaspe Peninsula and in the Otish Mountains of central Quebec. It is primarily a species of mountainous regions and may be found in wet to dry habitats.

Uses

A cold infusion of this plant is used by the

Ramah Navajo The Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation ( nv, Tł'ohchiní}) is a non-contiguous section of the Navajo Nation lying in parts of west-central Cibola and southern McKinley counties in New Mexico, United States, just east and southeast of the Zuni India ...

for protection against

witches Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have use ...

References

External links

*
Plants for a FutureJepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileCalphotos Photo gallery, University of CaliforniaTurner Photographics, Wildflowers of the Pacific NorthwestBlackfoot Native Plants
aurantiaca Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of California Flora of New Mexico Flora of the Rocky Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Plants described in 1833 Taxa named by Edward Lee Greene Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker Objects believed to protect from evil Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Cichorieae-stub