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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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| FLAT-TOPPED ASTER | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Doellingeria umbellata var. pubens | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Flat-topped aster grows 50 to 200 cm tall. The stem is very leafy at the base and is only slightly hairy. The leaves are without a stalk and can be hairless to rough hairy on top and light hairy below with a smooth edge. The heads are flat-topped clusters. The bracts are not hairy and do not have a spine. The ray flowers are white and the disc flowers are yellow. The fruits are about 2 mm long and the pappus is in two series. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Flat-topped aster grows moist woods and clearings, along marsh edges and in bogs. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in east-central to southern Saskatchewan in the Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition and Mid-Boreal Lowland Ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Flat-topped aster is vulnerable because it is limited to small areas and is vulnerable to habitat loss. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY FLAT-TOPPED ASTER | |||||||||
| * Are the rays white? * Are the leaf margins smooth? * Is the pappus in two rows? * Did you find it central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found flat-topped aster! | |||||||||
