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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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| NARROWLEAF WIRELETTUCE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Stephanomeria minor var. minor | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Narrowleaf wirelettuce is 20 to 50 cm tall from deep, creeping underground stems. The above ground stems are hairless and exude a white milky sap if broken. The leaves are alternate on the stem and the upper ones may appear whorled in the leaf axils. The lower leaves are toothed while the upper leaves are smooth-edged. The leaves are linear to thread-like and are smaller towards the top of the stem. The heads are made up of only five pink ray flowers. The fruits are ribbed but smooth. The pappus is feathery and whitish in colour. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Narrowleaf wirelettuce grows in open, dry, rocky places. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in the southwestern part of the province in the Mixed Grassland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Narrowleaf wirelettuce is very similar in appearance to other plants, like beaked annual skeletonweed. It is likely underreported, which is part of the reason why this plant is endangered in Saskatchewan. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY NARROWLEAF WIRELETTUCE | |||||||||
| * Is the pappus whitish? * Are the margins of the lower leaves toothed? * Is the pappus feathery? * Did you find it in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found narrowleaf wirelettuce! | |||||||||
