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''Simsia calva'', commonly known as the awnless bushsunflower, is a
perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
or
subshrub A subshrub ( Latin ''suffrutex'') or dwarf shrub is a short shrub, and is a woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a related term. "Subshrub" is often used interchangeably with "bush".Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their ...
that is found in the
Southwest United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...
(
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...
), as well as
Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
, the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Great ...
, and both
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
and
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...
.


Description

Plants in the genus ''
Simsia ''Simsia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae. It includes annuals, herbaceous perennials, and shrubs. They range from the western United States south through Central and South America to Argen ...
'' consist of annuals, perennials and subshrubs, ranging from anywhere between in height with stems that are either fully erect or ascending. Of the ''Simsia calva'' species, the average height ranges from . The leaves are cauline in their arrangement and can be proximal or whorled. The petioles are winged and usually form what are considered "discs" when they occasionally fuse with one another at the base. The faces of the leaves are hirsute to scabro-hispid, and are gland-dotted for the most part. The leaves of ''S. calva'' are dilated at the bases, forming fused "discs" with ovate blades measuring by , and even 3-lobed at times. The
head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...
of most, if not all, ''Simsia'' plants, including ''S. calva'' are radiate, and are either single, or in groups of two or three heads to form what is known as a
corymb Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficia ...
. The peduncles of ''Simsia calva'' rival the length of the base length of the entire plant, nearing around at their largest, and at their smallest. A whorl of
involucral bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or o ...
s are campanulate and range between in ''
Simsia ''Simsia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae. It includes annuals, herbaceous perennials, and shrubs. They range from the western United States south through Central and South America to Argen ...
'', and to . The bract below the flower, or phyllary, are around 11–66 in number and can either be condensed or broad. In ''Simsia calva'', the phyllaries are around 21-43 and are arranged subequally to equal. ''
Simsia ''Simsia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae. It includes annuals, herbaceous perennials, and shrubs. They range from the western United States south through Central and South America to Argen ...
'' have receptacles that tend to be low convex and paleate, essentially having a scaly covering. Ray florets are essentially the colorful, flowery portion of the plant. In most ''
Simsia ''Simsia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae. It includes annuals, herbaceous perennials, and shrubs. They range from the western United States south through Central and South America to Argen ...
'', the amount of ray florets can be anywhere between non-existent and as many as 45. They vary in colors, being any mixture of orange-yellow, lemon-yellow, pink, purple, or white. ''Simsia calva'' tend to have 8-21 ray florets with their colors being orange-yellow, with traces, lining, or fully colored faces of brown or purple. Disc florets in the overall genus can range anywhere from 12 to 172 in quantity, however, in contrast to ray florets, disc florets are actually fertile, and bisexual as well. Their colors differ on each part of the floret (i.e., the anthers are black or yellow, and the corollas are the same color as the ray florets). In ''S. calva'', the dis florets are enumerated from around 90–154, with the anthers almost always yellow, scarcely black. Cypselae are fruits in the Simsia plants that are from inferior ovaries. They tend to be flattened and occasionally hairy. In ''S. calva'', the cypselae are around 4 – 6 mm. In connection with the fruit structures, pappi surround the fruits. Generally absent in ''
Simsia ''Simsia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae. It includes annuals, herbaceous perennials, and shrubs. They range from the western United States south through Central and South America to Argen ...
'' plants, they are either absent or very fine (4 mm) in ''S. calva'' as well.


Habitat

''Simsia calva'' flowers year round in various soils, ranging from sand to clay, and even harder surfaces such as within rocks, on limestone, in prairies, in various types of pine forests, and even along streams and roadsides. In addition to the habitat that it may live in, ''S. calva'' also supports other members of the ecosystem it implements itself within. For large mammals, primarily, the species serves as a food source, albeit it would be a very small factor within a large mammal's diet, such as the white-tailed deer.


Range

In the United States, ''Simsia calva'' is prominent throughout Texas, through the trans-Pecos mountains, and leading into New Mexico's southeastern portion.


External links


USDA NRCS Plant Database
# Simsia Wikipedia Page
Image archive of Central Texas PlantsFlora of North America


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7521262 Heliantheae