Madia gracilis (Sm.) D.D. Keck
slender tarweed (grassy tarweed)
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
slender tarweed (grassy tarweed)
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Aromatic annual herb from a tap root; stems erect, simple, usually branched, roughly hairy becoming glandular upwards, 10-100 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves alternate, linear to lance-linear, 2-11 cm long, 1-10 mm wide, stiff-hairy and often densely glandular upwards.
Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers, numerous in an elongate inflorescence; involucres urn-shaped, 6-11 mm tall; involucral bracts linear dorsally, crescent-shaped laterally, glandular; ray flowers yellow, 3-9, 1.5-2 mm long; disk flowers 13-15, fertile, with black anthers.
Fruits:
Achenes flattened, hairless, often mottled, 2.8-5 mm long; pappus lacking.
Illustration
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
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Madia gracilis
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
537 | 120 | 925 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
40 | 10 | 100 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
174 | 60 | 240 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
1 | 0 | 4 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
29 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CDF(3), ICH(2), PP(2) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry roadsides, open slopes and forest openings in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; infrequent in extreme S BC; S to UT, NV, CA and MX, disjunct in Chile.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Madia dissitiflora (Nutt.) Torr. & A. Gray
Madia gracilis subsp. collina D.D. Keck
Madia gracilis subsp. pilosa D.D. Keck