''Agoseris apargioides'' is a species in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...

, is commonly called seaside agoseris or seaside false-dandelion. It is native to the

Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the P ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

from

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

to central

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, where it grows primarily on

coastal dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
/ref>Calflora taxon report, University of California''Agoseris apargioides'' (Less.) E. Greene Coast Dandelion, seaside agoseris, woolly goat chicory
/ref> ''Agoseris apargioides'' is a low-growing, perennial herb with milky or orange sap, that may be stemless or with long, rhizome-like stems that are buried by drifting sand. The leaves form low rosettes on the ground. They are slender to broad, up to 15 centimeters long, and usually with 3-5 pairs of lobes along the margins (these sometimes lacking). The

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

of the inflorescence can be as tall as 45 centimeters but is usually much shorter. The

flower head A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

is up to 2 centimeters wide, surrounded by

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part o ...

to hairy

phyllaries In botanical terminology, a phyllary, also known an involucral bract or tegule, is a single bract of the involucre of a composite flower. The involucre is the grouping of bracts together. Phyllaries are reduced leaf-like structures that form one ...

, and contains yellow

ray florets The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae we ...

(the outer ones often have a purple strip on the lower surface) but no

disc floret The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae we ...

s. The fruit is an

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not op ...

between 5-12 millimeters long; the lower part of the

contains a single seed, while the upper portion of the

forms a slender beak that possesses a terminal, white pappus.Flora of North America, ''Agoseris apargioides''
/ref>

Varieties

Three varieties are recognized by

Flora of North America The ''Flora of North America North of Mexico'' (usually referred to as ''FNA'') is a multivolume work describing the native plants and naturalized plants of North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and a ...

and Calflora but not by

The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant species ...

: *''Agoseris apargioides'' var. ''apargioides'' - west-central

*''Agoseris apargioides'' var. ''eastwoodiae'' - northwestern

*''Agoseris apargioides'' var. ''maritima'' -

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

, extreme northwestern

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUnited States Department of Agriculture Plants ProfileCalphotos Photo gallery, University of California
apargioides Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) Plants described in 1831 Taxa named by Edward Lee Greene Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Cichorieae-stub