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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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| SWAMP THISTLE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Cirsium muticum | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Swamp thistle can grow as tall as 180 cm! This plant has a large, fleshy taproot to hold it in place. The stem is thick and ridged. The leaves are in a tuft at the bottom of the stem as well as arranged alternately along the stem and have yellow spines on the edges. The outer bracts on the heads do not have a spiny tip, like in some of the other thistles. The flowers are all disc flowers with purple petals. The pappus is white and feathery. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Swamp thistle grows in wet woods and clearings, along sloughs and on lakeshores. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in east-central Saskatchewan in the Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Lowland and Mid-Boreal Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Swamp thistle grows in small groups in a limited range and is considered vulnerable in Saskatchewan. | |||||||||
| HOW TO INDENTIFY SWAMP THISTLE | |||||||||
| * Are flowers purple? * Do the leaves have yellow, spiny edges? * Are the outer bracts without a spiny tip? * Did you find it east-central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found swamp thistle! | |||||||||
