''Hulsea heterochroma'', commonly known as redray alpinegold, is a 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 ...

. It is native to the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

and

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 ...

. It grows in

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

, yellow pine forests, and open habitats between in elevation.

Description

''Hulsea heterochroma'' is an annual or perennial herb growing thick, leafy green stems to heights sometimes over one meter (40 inches). The toothed leaves are 10 to 20 centimeters (4-8 inches) long. Leaves and stem are covered in glandular hairs.Flora of North America, ''Hulsea heterochroma'' A. Gray, 1867. Redray alpinegold
/ref> The leafy

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 o ...

produces many

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 ...

also completely covered in small glandular hairs. The green, lance-shaped

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 or ...

are over a centimeter (0.4 inch) long. The center of the flower head is filled with many yellow disc florets, while the edge is fringed with 28–75 narrow, thready red-orange to reddish pink ray florets each up to a centimeter (0.4 inches) long. The fruit is a hairy

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 ...

6 to 8 millimeters (0.24-0.32 inches) long.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment — ''Hulsea heterochroma'', University of CaliforniaUnited States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile: ''Hulsea heterochroma''''Hulsea heterochroma'' — Calphotos Photo gallery, University of California
heterochroma Flora of the Southwestern United States Plants described in 1868 {{Asteroideae-stub