Biology:Atrichoseris

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Short description: Genus of flowering plants

Atrichoseris
Atrichoseris platyphylla 8.jpg
Atrichoseris platyphylla
at Lake Mead
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Cichorioideae
Tribe: Cichorieae
Subtribe: Microseridinae
Genus: Atrichoseris
A.Gray
Species:
A. platyphylla
Binomial name
Atrichoseris platyphylla
A. Gray
Synonyms[1]
  • Anathrix A.Gray
  • Malacothrix unranked Anathrix A. Gray
  • Malacothrix platyphylla A.Gray

Atrichoseris is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae.[2][1] It contains only one known species, Atrichoseris platyphylla, known by the common names tobacco weed, parachute plant, and gravel ghost.[3]

A. platyphylla is native to the deserts of the southwestern United States (southern California , Arizona, Nevada and the southwestern corner of Utah) and northwestern Mexico (Sonora, Baja California).[4][5][6]

The plant produces a low basal rosette of rounded leaves patterned with gray-green and purple patches at ground level. It sends up a weedy-looking thin branching stem up to 70 centimetres (28 inches) tall, topped with a number of attractive, fragrant white or pink-tinged flowers, about 2.5–5 cm (1–2 in) wide,[4] the layered ray florets rectangular and toothed.[5][6] The flowers bloom between February and May.[4] The hairless fruit has the shape of a five-sided club.[4]

The genus name, Atrichoseris, means 'chicory plant without hairs', referring to the fruit, and the specific epithet, platyphylla, means 'flat-leaved'.[4]

Gravel ghosts in Death Valley National Park, March 2005.

References

External links

Wikidata ☰ {{{from}}} entry