''Crepis occidentalis'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...

known by the common names western hawksbeard,Great Basin Wildflowers, Laird R. Blackwell, 2006, Morris Book Publishing LLC., or largeflower hawksbeard. It is native to western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

(

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

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) and the western

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(from the

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to the western Great Plains). ''Crepis occidentalis'' grows in many types of habitat. It is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb growing a grayish woolly branching stem to about 40 centimeters (16 inches) in height from a deep

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

. The woolly, toothed leaves are up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) long at the base of the plant. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

produces several clusters of

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

with hairy, often

glandular In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

phyllaries In botanical terminology, a phyllary, also known an involucral bract or tegule, is a single bract of the involucre of a composite flower. The involucre is the grouping of bracts together. Phyllaries are reduced leaf-like structures that form one ...

and many yellow

ray florets The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae we ...

but no

disc floret The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae we ...

s. The fruit is a ribbed

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 op ...

with a frilly pappus at the tip. ;SubspeciesFlora of North America, Gray or western hawksbeard, Crepis occidentalis Nuttall, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia. 7: 29. 1834.
/ref> * ''Crepis occidentalis'' subsp. ''conjuncta'' Babcock & Stebbins –

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Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

* ''Crepis occidentalis'' subsp. ''costata'' (A.Gray) Babc. & Stebbins –

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* ''Crepis occidentalis'' subsp. ''occidentalis'' –

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New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

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* ''Crepis occidentalis'' subsp. ''pumila'' (Rydb.) Babc. & Stebbins –

;

Cultivation

Western hawksbeard is occasionally grown by wildflower gardeners for its large deep yellow blooms. The taproot cannot be divided for successful propagation and therefore it is planted from seed when cultivated. The author Claude A. Barr was of the opinion that this species is the most attractive in the genus ''Crepis'' and that all the others are, "for the birds."

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Crepis occidentalis'' (Largeflower hawksbeard) Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Crepis occidentalis''USDA Plants Profile for ''Crepis occidentalis'' (largeflower hawksbeard)UC Calphotos gallery of ''Crepis occidentalis''

occidentalis This list of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names is intended to help those unfamiliar with classical languages to understand and remember the scientific names of organisms. The binomial nomenclature used for animals and plants i ...

Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Western United States Flora of California Flora of the Great Basin Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Plants described in 1834 Taxa named by Thomas Nuttall Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Cichorieae-stub