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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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| TALL WHITE FLEABANE | ||
| LATIN NAME: Erigeron elatus | ||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | ||
| Tall white fleabane is 10 to 30 cm tall. The stem is thin and hairy but without glands. The leaves are basal and on the stem. The leaf edges are smooth and the leaves may be covered in short hairs. There are few heads in clusters at the top of the stem. The bracts are shorter than the petals and are green with straw-coloured margins. The ray flowers are very small and are purple or white. There are rayless female flowers between the ray flowers and the disc flowers. The fruits have two nerves and a white pappus. | ||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | ||
| Tall white fleabane grows in open, moist woods and shrublands or in clearings. | ||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | ||
| This plant is found in a large range in Saskatchewan from the northern part of the province, near Lake Athabasca to central Saskatchewan. It is found in these ecoregions: Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland, Mid-Boreal Lowland, Tazin Lake Upland. | ||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | ||
| Although this plant has a large range in the province, it is not very common and is considered vulnerable. | ||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY TALL WHITE FLEABANE | ||
| * Are the ray flowers very small and purple or
white? * Are there rayless flowers between the ray and disc flowers? * Are the fruits 2-nerved? * Did you find it northern to central Saskatchewan? |
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| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found tall white fleabane! | ||
