General:
Annual, ill-scented herb from a taproot; stems erect, leafy, simple or branched, essentially glabrous, 10-60 cm tall.
Leaves:
Alternate, 2-3 times divided into narrow, sparsely hairy, glandular dotted segments.
Flowers:
Heads solitary at ends of uppermost branches; involucres broad; involucral bracts in several rows, overlapping, firm, narrow, with a thickened midrib and translucent margins; receptacles with papery scales only in the middle; ray flowers white, sterile and generally neutral, commonly 10-20, 5-10 mm long; disk flowers yellow, numerous.
Fruits:
Achenes slightly flattened, 10-ribbed, glandular bumpy; pappus lacking.
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Maruta cotula (L.) DC.
1. Rays yellow........................................................................A. tinctoria
1. Rays white. 2. Receptacles papery throughout, achenes with smooth ribs..................A. arvensis 2. Receptacles papery only above the middle; achenes with glandular-tuberculate (bumpy) ribs..................A. cotula Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |