''Packera bolanderi'' is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names Bolander's ragwort and seacoast ragwort. It is native to the west coast of the United States from

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 ...

to 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 ...

, where it grows in wet coastal forests and woodlands. There are two varieties of the species which differ slightly in

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

and habitat occupied; these varieties have been considered separate species by some authors.Flora of North America
/ref> The var. ''bolanderi'' has thicker leaves, occurs farther south (into California), and occupies more open types of habitat, than does var. ''harfordii''. This plant in general is a perennial herb producing one to three stems up to half a meter tall. The basal leaves have blades up to 12 centimeters long which are divided into several lobes and borne on long, thin petioles. Leaves growing farther up the stem are smaller and have more lobes on their blades. 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 ...

contains several

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 ...

, each lined with dark green phyllaries. The head contains many golden yellow disc florets and generally either 8 or 13 yellow ray florets each over a centimeter long. The fruit is an

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 ...

tipped with a pappus of bristles.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Packera bolanderi'' (Bolander's ragwort)USDA Plants profile for ''Packera bolanderi''Jepson eFlora treatment of ''Packera bolanderi'' var. ''bolanderi''
bolanderi Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) Flora of the Klamath Mountains Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Taxa named by Asa Gray {{Senecioneae-stub