''Silphium asteriscus'', commonly called starry rosinweed, is an herbaceous 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 ...
. It is native to the eastern United States, from
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
east to
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. It is a widespread species found in a variety of open habitats, such as prairies and woodlands.
Taxonomy
Additional research is needed to better understand the taxonomy of this species. It remains perhaps the most poorly-understood ''Silphium'' in eastern North America.
It appears to show a high level of local variability throughout its range, which has been interpreted as either a species complex, a single highly variable species, or some combination of both. Due to conflicting information about the best circumscription of the varieties, the taxonomy of this species remains unsettled.
Flora of Missouri
/ref>[ If adopted, this leaves ''S. asteriscus'' with three remaining varieties. They are:
*''Silphium asteriscus'' var. ''asteriscus'' - Appalachian and eastward; with a congested, hispid inflorescence
*''Silphium asteriscus'' var. ''laitoflium'' - south and west of the Appalachians; with broad, opposite leaves and a spreading glabrous inflorescence
*''Silphium asteriscus'' var. ''trifoliatum'' - widespread; similar to the above but with narrow whorled leaves][
Image:Silphium asteriscus-linedrawing.png, Line drawing of ''Silphium asteriscus''
]
References
External links
*
*
asteriscus
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
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