''Packera cana'' is a species of flowering plant in the
aster family known by the common name woolly groundsel. It is native to western and central North America, where it can be found in a wide array of habitat types at all elevations from
grassland to the
alpine climates of mountain peaks.
It is a
perennial herb
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
producing one erect stem from a rosette of basal leaves and a
rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
system. It generally grows up to 40 centimeters in maximum height. It is a woolly plant, its herbage coated in whitish hairs. The basal leaves have lance-shaped to oval blades which may have smooth or toothed edges. They are a few centimeters long and are borne on
petioles. Leaves higher on the stem are smaller and simpler.
The
inflorescence 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 woolly green
phyllaries. The head contains many golden yellow disc florets and generally either 8 or 13 narrow yellow ray florets each up to 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 ...
around a centimeter long, including its
pappus of bristles.
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaWashington Burke MuseumPhoto gallery
cana
Flora of the Western United States
Flora of California
Flora of Colorado
Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Flora of the Rocky Mountains
Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Senecioneae-stub