Crepis intermedia Gray
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TAXONOMY
 
Family: Asteraceae or Compositae
Genus: Crepis
 
Species Synonyms: Psilochenia intermedia (Gray) W.A. Weber
Common Names: gray hawksbeard
limestone hawksbeard
small flowered hawksbeard
 
DISTRIBUTION
 
Canada: British Columbia – southwestern Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan: southwestern Saskatchewan; Cypress Hills
Ecoregion: Cypress Uplands
 
HABITAT
 
Saskatchewan: open coulee slopes
 
RARITY STATUS
 
Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):
Endangered
Nature Conservancy Status:
G5 SR
Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:
None
COSEWIC Status:
None
 
Gray hawksbeard is endangered because of extreme rarity in Saskatchewan. It is highly regionally restricted within the province.
 
SPECIES DESCRIPTION
 
Height: 20 – 60 cm
Roots: taproot
Stems: persistent woody base with overlapping leaf bases; stems 1 – 2, juice milky, gray hairy
Leaves: mostly basal; basal leaves 10 – 15 cm long, 2 – 3 cm wide, lobed, lobes linear or lance-shaped, downward pointing, terminal lobe long-tapered, densely to sparsely gray woolly, margin entire; stem leaves reduced upwards, alternate, without ear-like lobes at base, lobed to linear
Inflorescence: heads several, 0.5 – 2.0 cm wide, terminal or nearly so; bracts in 2 series, green, often with black tips, not glandular-hairy, outer bracts 6 – 8, less than half as long as inner bracts
Flowers: ray florets yellow, perfect; pappus white, capillary bristles
Fruits: achene round in cross section or nearly so, 10 – 20-ribbed, beakless, brownish
 
CREPIS KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN
 
1 Annual; stem leaves with ear-like lobes
C. tectorum
1 Perennial; stem leaves if present, without ear-like lobes
2
   
2 Stems and stem leaves hairless (or at most weakly hairy); leaves entire or dentate
3
2 Stems woolly or hairy; leaves lobed
4
   
3 Bracts not hairy or glandular
C. runcinata ssp. glauca
3 Leaves glandular along midrib
C. runcinata ssp. hispidulosa
 
4 Leaf segments linear to narrowly lance-shaped, usually entire; achenes greenish
C. atribarba
4 Leaf segments lance-shaped, usually toothed; achenes greenish or brownish
5
 
5 Plants usually < 35 cm tall; bracts glandular hairy
C. occidentalis ssp. costata
5 Plants usually > 35 cm tall; bracts not glandular hairy
C. intermedia