''Nothocalais alpestris'' 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 name alpine lake false dandelion. It is native to the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

and other mountains from northern Washington to central California, where it grows in subalpine forests and meadows, most commonly at elevation.

Description

''Nothocalais alpestris'' is a nearly hairless perennial herb growing from a thick

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 ...

and reaching about tall. The leaves are located around the base of the stem and have toothed, wavy, or smooth edges, and sometimes a thin coat of small hairs. They measure up to long. The flower head is borne singly, usually on a leafless stalk. Hairless phyllaries are green, usually with tiny purple dots and nearly equal in length. The outer ones are wider than the inner. The corolla contains many yellow ray florets and no disc florets. The fruit from each floret is a cylindrical

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 ...

up to long, not considering the large pappus of up to 50 hairlike white bristles which may be an additional centimeter in length.

References

External links

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q9050826 alpestris Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) Flora without expected TNC conservation status