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
 
Crepis intermedia 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: caudex with overlapping leaf bases; stems 1 – 2 from caudex, milky juice, gray hairy
Leaves: mostly basal; basal leaves 10 – 15 cm long, 2 – 3 cm wide, pinnatifed, lobes linear or lanceolate, runcinate, terminal lobe long-acuminate, densely to sparsely gray tomentose, margin entire; cauline leaves reduced upwards, alternate, not auriculate, pinnatifed to linear
Inflorescence: heads several, 0.5 – 2.0 cm wide, terminal or nearly so; phyllaries in 2 series, green, often with black tips, not glandular-hairy, outer phyllaries 6 – 8, less than half as long as inner phyllaries
Flowers: ligulate florets yellow, perfect; pappus white, bristles capillary
Fruits: achene terete or nearly so, 10 – 20-ribbed, beakless, brownish
 
CREPIS KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN
 
1 Annual; cauline leaves auriculate
C. tectorum
1 Perennial; cauline leaves if present, not auriculate
2
   
2 Stems and cauline leaves glabrous (or at most weakly hispid); leaves entire or dentate
3
2 Stems tomentose or puberulent; leaves pinnatifed
4
   
3 Involucral bracts not hairy or glandular
C. runcinata ssp. glauca
3 Leaves glandular along midrib
C. runcinata ssp. hispidulosa
 
4 Leaf segments linear to narrowly lanceolate, usually entire; achenes greenish
C. atribarba
4 Leaf segments lanceolate, usually toothed; achenes greenish or brownish
5
 
5 Plants usually < 35 cm tall; involucre glandular-hairy
C. occidentalis ssp. costata
5 Plants usually > 35 cm tall; involucre not glandular-hairy
C. intermedia