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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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| DWARF FLEABANE | ||
| LATIN NAME: Erigeron radicatus | ||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | ||
| Dwarf fleabane is 3 to 10 cm tall. The taproot is deep and the stem is woody and branched at the base. Most of the leaves are basal and are linear to narrowly spoon-shaped. The heads are one to few with greyish, hairy bracts. The ray flowers are white and the disc flowers are yellow. The pappus is in two rows, a short inner row of 6 to 12 bristles and an outer row of fine bristles. | ||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | ||
| Dwarf fleabane grows on sandy soil on eroded grassland slopes and flats. | ||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | ||
| This plant is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland and Mixed Grassland ecoregions. | ||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | ||
| Dwarf fleabane is restricted to the southwest corner of the province and grows in fragile habitat. It is vulnerable because it is threatened by agriculture and human development. | ||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY DWARF FLEABANE | ||
| * Are the ray flowers white? * Are the leaves only basal or with very small stem leaves? * Are the bracts greyish and hairy? * Did you find it in the southwest corner of the province? |
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| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found dwarf fleabane! | ||
