|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
|||||||||
| 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. |
|||||||||
| WATER MARIGOLD | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Megalodonta beckii | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| The stems are limp and cannot support the plant if taken out of the water. The leaves can be under water or at the surface. The underwater leaves are deeply divided into thread-like lobes. The leaves on the surface of the water are not divided and are oval in shape with saw-toothed edges. The heads are solitary at the end of a long stalk. There are five to eight yellow ray flowers and ten to 30 pale yellow disc flowers in each head. The pappus is made of long, barbed awns. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Water marigold grows in calm water 30 to 90 cm deep. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is only found in central to eastern Saskatchewan in the Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland, and Churchill River Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Water marigold is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is not common. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY WATER MARIGOLD | |||||||||
| * Is the plant growing in the water? * Are the ray and disc flowers yellow? * Are there two different types of leaves, one underwater and the other at the surface? * Does the pappus have barbs? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found water marigold! | |||||||||
