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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE SUNFLOWER FAMILY | ||
| The sunflowers are found around the
globe in many different places, from temperate climates, like in Saskatchewan,
to mountains or in dry regions. The sunflower family is very large and contains
about 19,000 species! As you can imagine, the plants in this family can
look very different from one another. The sunflowers can be shrubs or herbs,
with many different leaf shapes and flower colours. One thing that is common
to all sunflowers is the type of flower arrangement. In this family, there
are many flowers grouped together into a head, like the one you see on a
daisy. It looks like one flower from a distance, but when you get close
you will see that it is actually made up of many, small flowers. The head
may have ray flowers on the outside and disc flowers on the inside, or only
one of the two kinds. Many of the seeds, like the dandelion, have a fluffy
structure attached to the seed. This is called the pappus and helps the
seeds to spread in the wind. You probably know a lot of plants in the sunflower family. Sunflowers can be plants you eat or plants that you may grow in the yard. For example, did you know that lettuce is from the sunflower family? So are the marigolds in the garden! Maybe you have heard of Echinacea? It is a plant in the sunflower family that is used to make medicine. Some of the sunflowers are also weeds, like the dandelion. |
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| LOW EVERLASTING | ||
| LATIN NAME: Antennaria dimorpha | ||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | ||
| Low everlasting is between 1 and 5 cm tall and has a branched, woody base. The stems are densely tufted and have greyish hairs. The leaves are basal and on the stem and also have gray hairs. The male and female flowers are found on separate plants. The bracts on the male heads have colourless edges and blackish-green centers. The bracts on the female flowers are whitish at the edges with brownish centers. The petals on both types of flowers are white. | ||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | ||
| Low everlasting grows on dry, gravelly hillsides and sandy prairies. | ||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | ||
| This plant is found in southwest corner of the province in the Cypress Hills Upland and Mixed Grassland ecoregions. | ||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | ||
| Low everlasting is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is only found in the Cypress Hills. | ||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY LOW EVERLASTING | ||
| * Are the heads solitary? * Does the plant a woody base? * Does the plant grow on dry, gravelly hillsides? * Did you find it in southwest Saskatchewan? |
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| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found low everlasting! | ||
