Microseris nutans (Hook.) Sch. Bip.
nodding microseris (nodding microceris)
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
nodding microseris (nodding microceris)
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
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Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from 1-several thickened fleshy roots; stems erect, simple or several, branching, leafy below, glabrous or scaly, exuding milky juice when broken, 10-70 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves variable, linear to lanceolate or spoon-shaped, entire to toothed or finely pinnately cut with slender lobes, glabrous or scaly; stem leaves similar.
Flowers:
Heads with strap-shaped flowers, solitary at ends of branches, nodding until mature; involucres cylindric to bell-shaped, 8-22 mm tall; involucral bracts glabrous dorsally or often scaly-hairy, the inner ones lanceolate-pointed, the outer ones unequal, shorter and graduated or nearly so, linear to egg-shaped; ray flowers yellow.
Fruits:
Achenes columnar or narrowly spindle-shaped, grey to brown, glabrous or hairy, 3.5-8 mm long; pappus 5-10 mm long, of 15-30 narrow scales, each bearing a long, bright white, feathery bristle.
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
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: White
Present over the Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Microseris nutans
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) |
1012 | 570 | 2074 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
27 | 0 | 76 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
185 | 13 | 340 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 1 | 5 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
48 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(2), BG(3), ESSF(6), ICH(5), IDF(16), MS(1), PP(15) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to mesic grasslands, shrublands and forest openings in the steppe and montane zones; common in SC and SE BC; S to MT, UT, CO and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Microseris nutans subsp. nutans (Hook.) Schultz-Bip.
Ptilocalais nutans (Hook.) Greene
Scorzonella nutans Hook.
Scorzonella nutans var. major (A. Gray) M. Peck