''Lasthenia glaberrima'' 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 ...
known by the common names smooth goldfields and rayless goldfields. It is native to western North America from
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
to
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 ...
, where it grows in
wet meadows and
vernal pools
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...
.
Description
''Lasthenia glaberrima'' is an annual herb producing a mostly erect, hairless stem to maximum heights near 35 centimeters. The stem may branch or not, and it bears hairless linear leaves up to about 10 centimeters long.
Atop the stem is an
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 ...
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 fused, pointed
phyllaries. The head contains many yellowish or greenish disc florets. There are also yellow ray florets, but they are so short they may be nearly invisible inside the involucre of phyllaries.
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 ...
a few millimeters long which is linear in shape with a
pappus of scales.
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfilePhoto gallery
glaberrima
Flora of California
Flora of Oregon
Flora of Washington (state)
Flora of British Columbia
Flora of the West Coast of the United States
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
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