''Heterotheca villosa'', commonly known as the hairy goldenaster, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

found in central and western North America.

Description

Hairy golden aster can grow from tall, but is more typically tall. Their leaves may be as long as , but are more often in length. Blooming from May to October, the

flower head A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) 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, composite flowers ...

is about wide, with yellow ray and disk florets. The seeds have white bristles at the tip. The species can be difficult to identify, as it has a number of close relatives and many

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

. ;VarietiesFlora of North America, ''Heterotheca villosa'' (Pursh) Shinners, 1951. Hairy goldenaster
/ref>University of Waterloo (Canada), Astereae Lab, ''Heterotheca villosa''
photos, drawings, distribution maps for each variety *''Heterotheca villosa'' var. ''ballardii'' (Rydb.) Semple - northern Great Plains in US and Canada *''Heterotheca villosa'' var. ''depressa'' (Rydb.) Semple - Wyoming *''Heterotheca villosa'' var. ''foliosa'' (Nutt.) V.L.Harms - Rockies, Black Hills, northern Cascades, etc. *''Heterotheca villosa'' var. ''minor'' (Hook.) Semple - Rockies, Cascades, Sierra Nevada, etc. *''Heterotheca villosa'' var. ''nana'' (A.Gray) Semple - Rockies + other mountains from South Dakota to Arizona *''Heterotheca villosa'' var. ''pedunculata'' (Greene) V.L.Harms ex Semple - Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah *''Heterotheca villosa'' var. ''scabra'' (Eastw.) Semple - Mexico, southwestern USA *''Heterotheca villosa'' var. ''sierrablancensis'' Semple - New Mexico *''Heterotheca villosa'' var. ''villosa'' - northern Great Plains, Columbia Plateau, etc.

Distribution and habitat

The species is widespread across central and western North America, from

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

west to

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and south as far as

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Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

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, and northern

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. It grows well on dry lands, but also on plains, rocky slopes and cliffs, at low elevations and in coniferous forests.

Cultivation

The wildflower gardener Claude A. Barr regarded it as a useful plant in the garden for its masses of bright yellow flowers.

References

villosa ''Villosa'' is a genus of freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve molluscs in the family Unionidae. Species Species within the genus ''Villosa'': * '' Villosa amygdala'' * '' Villosa arkansasensis'' - Ouachita creekshell * '' Villosa choctawensi ...

Flora of the Great Plains (North America) Plants described in 1813 {{Astereae-stub