''Eucephalus ledophyllus'' 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 w ...

known by the common name Cascade aster. It is native to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in the United States, mostly in the Cascade Mountains.''Eucephalus ledophyllus''.
The Nature Conservancy. Some of the populations are inside national parks and monuments:

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is an American national park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park was established on March 2, 1899, as the fourth national park in the United States, preservi ...

North Cascades National Park North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Par ...

, and

Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is a U.S. National Monument that includes the area around Mount St. Helens in Washington. It was established on August 27, 1982, by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, following the 1980 eruption. The 110,00 ...

. ''Eucephalus ledophyllus'' is a perennial herb up to 80 cm (32 inches) tall, with a large woody

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...

. One plant will usually produce 3-20

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 ...

in a showy array. Each head has 5–21 purple ray florets surrounding numerous yellow

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 w ...

s.Flora of North America, ''Eucephalus ledophyllus'' (A.Gray) Greene, 1896. Cascade aster
/ref> ;Varieties *''Eucephalus ledophyllus'' var. ''covillei'' (Greene) G.L.Nesom - Oregon, California - flower stalks not cottony *''Eucephalus ledophyllus'' var. ''ledophyllus'' - Washington, Oregon - flower stalks cottony

References

External links

numerous photos {{Taxonbar, from=Q15548010 Astereae Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) Plants described in 1872