''Madia radiata'' 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 golden madia and showy madia. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
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 is known mostly from the
Central Coast Ranges and adjacent edges of the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
and
Central Valley.
Description
''Madia radiata'' is an annual herb growing upright 10 to 90 centimeters tall, the stem often branching and coated in bulbous resin glands. The bristly, glandular leaves are up to 10 centimeters long, often wider at the top of the plant than below. 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 o ...
produces
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 ...
lined with hairy, gland-studded
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 ...
. The head has golden yellow ray florets up to almost 2 centimeters long and a center filled with many disc florets. The fruit is a black
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 with no
pappus.
Distribution
The ''Madia radiata'' current distribution and status is uncertain; most of the known occurrences were observed decades ago and have not been confirmed since, and many have likely been
extirpated
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
.
California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile
/ref>
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Madia radiata''USDA Plants Profile: ''Madia radiata''Flora of North AmericaLocal Profile at Elkhorn Slough''Madia radiata'' Photo gallery
radiata
Radiata or Radiates is a historical taxonomic rank that was used to classify animals with radially symmetric body plans. The term Radiata is no longer accepted, as it united several different groupings of animals that do not form a monophyletic ...
Endemic flora of California
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
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