''Saussurea americana'' is a species of flowering plant in the family
Asteraceae known by the common name American saw-wort. It is native to northwestern North America from
Alaska to far northern
California to
Montana, where it grows in mountain habitat, such as meadows and forests. It is a perennial herb producing one or more hairy, glandular, erect stems up to a meter tall or more 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 ...
. The lance-shaped leaves are up to 15 centimeters long and have toothed edges, especially the larger lower leaves. The
inflorescence is a cluster of 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 a bullet-shaped body covered in purple or purple-tinged green
phyllaries. The head opens at the tip to bloom with several white to purple tubular disc florets; there are no ray florets. 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, the whole unit sometimes exceeding a centimeter in length.
External links
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Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaWashington Burke Museum
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americana
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