Microseris bigelovii (A. Gray) Sch. Bip.
coast microseris (coastal silverpuffs)
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
coast microseris (coastal silverpuffs)
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
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Introduction
This species flowers in late June/early July in British Columbia.
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Species Information
General:
Annual herb from a taproot: stems erect to ascending or decumbent, simple, solitary to several, leafless, exuding milky juice when broken, 4-35 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves linear to oblanceolate or spoon-shaped, entire or coarsely pinnately cut with slender or broad tapering lobes or teeth, glabrous, 3-25 cm long; stem leaves lacking.
Flowers:
Heads with strap-shaped flowers, solitary at end of stems, nodding until mature; involucres 6-15 mm tall; involucral bracts broadly lanceolate, the inner ones keeled, often reddish on the outer surface, long black-hairy within, the outer ones short and bractlike; ray flowers yellow or yellow-orange.
Fruits:
Achenes tapered abruptly at the base, brown or bronze, sometimes darkly spotted, 2.5-6 mm long; pappus of 5 glabrous or short-hairy, lanceolate scales, each terminating in a long, hairlike bristle arising from the pointed scale.
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
Habitat and Range
Moist, open, grassy coastal bluffs in the lowland zone; rare in SW BC, known only from S Vancouver Island and Hornby Island; S to CA.Status Information
| Origin Status | Provincial Status | BC List (Red Blue List) | COSEWIC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native | S2 | Red | E (Apr 2006) |
BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.
Similar Species
There are three species of Microseris in B.C. that could be confused with Microseris bigelovii: M. borealis, M. nutans, and M. lindleyi. M. borealis and M. nutans are perennials which have more conspicuous ray flowers that well exceed the involucre. M. lindleyi and M. bigelovii are annuals which have inconspicuous ray flowers that equal or barely exceed the involucre. Only M. lindleyi has a similar distribution to M. bigelovii. M. bigelovii has lanceolate pappus scales, each terminating in a long, hair-like bristle arising from a pointed scale, and has leafless, unbranched stems. M. lindleyi has linear pappus scales, each terminating in a short hair-like bristle arising from a distinctly-notched scale, and has stems that are leafy below and branched at or near the base (Douglas et al. 1998b; COSEWIC 2006b).
Source: British Columbia Conservation Data Centre |