lance-leaf coreopsis

not listed

N5 - Secure

SNA - Not applicable

not listed

FACU - Facultative upland

FACU - Facultative upland

FACU - Facultative upland

Lance-leaf coreopsis is a showy summer wildflower. It is native to eastern Canada and most of the eastern half of the United States, west to Wisconsin and eastern Texas. It was introduced in Europe, eastern Asia, South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. It is considered invasive in Japan and eastern Australia. In the United States it is widely cultivated as a garden ornamental, and is sometimes planted on roadsides. It was introduced but is not yet well established (adventive) in Minnesota. It is found in prairies, meadows, and disturbed areas. It grows under full sun in dry to moderately moist sandy soil

Lance-leaf coreopsis is a perennial forb that rises on a tuft of basal leaves and multiple flowering stems from a short, underground, horizontal stem (rhizome). It often forms clumps. Plants that have not been cultivated are 8″ to 24″ (10 to 60 cm) tall. Cultivated plants can be up to 36″ (91 cm) tall. The hairiness of the plant is highly variable, even within the same plant.

Basal leaves are 2″ to 4¾″ (5 to 12 cm) long, and 5⁄16″ to ⅝″ (8 to 15 mm) wide or slightly wider. They are on ⅜″ to 2″ (1 to 5 cm) long or longer leaf stalks (petioles). The leaf blades are narrowly lance-shaped or lance egg-shaped. They are narrowed toward the base and taper to a usually sharp point at the tip. The blades are sometimes divided into 2 to 5 pinnate lobes or divisions. When divided, the terminal lobe or division is much longer than the lateral ones. The upper and lower surfaces may be hairless or sparsely to moderately covered with short, white, spreading hairs. The margins are untoothed.

The stems are erect, branched or unbranched, and hairless or sparsely to moderately covered with spreading hairs.

Stem leaves are opposite and are clustered on the lower one-third to one-half of the stem. On non-cultivated plants there are usually just 1 to 3 nodes, rarely up to 5 nodes. Cultivated plants may have more nodes. Lower stem leaves are on long petioles and are similar to basal leaves. The leaves become smaller, shorter stalked, and less divided as they ascend the stem.

The inflorescence is usually a solitary, showy flower head on a long stalk (peduncle) at the end of the stem and branches. The peduncles are leafless and usually 4¾″ to 8″ (12 to 20 cm) long, sometimes up to 13¾″ (35 cm) long.

Each flower head is 2″ to 3″ (5 to 8 cm) in diameter and consists of a dense cluster of 60 to 150 or more tiny, fertile, disc florets surrounded by several large spreading, sterile, ray florets. Non-cultivated plants have just 8 ray florets. Cultivated plants have more ray florets, often twice that number.

At the base of the flower head there are two widely spreading series of modified leaves (bracts), each with 8 bracts. Outer bracts (calyculi) are green, lance egg-shaped to lance-linear, and 3 ⁄16″ to ⅜″ (5 to 10 mm) long. Inner bracts (phyllaries) are yellowish-green to yellowish-brown, triangular or triangular lance-shaped, and ⅜″ to ½″ (6 to 12 mm) long.

Ray florets are entirely yellow, are ⅝″ to 13⁄16″ (15 to 30 mm) long, and have 3 to 5 deep lobes or teeth at the tip. Disc florets are entirely yellow, five-lobed, and ¼″ to 5⁄16″ (6 to 7.5 mm) long.

The fruit is a dry, ⅛″ (3 to 4 mm) long seed capsule (cypsela) with conspicuous spreading wings on the margins.

8″ to 24″ (10 to 60 cm)

Yellow

Dry to moderate moisture. Prairies, meadows, and disturbed areas. Full sun. Sandy soil.

May to August

Garden ornamental, landscape beautification

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 24, 28, 29, 30.

Native in the eastern United States west to Wisconsin. Adventive in Minnesota.

Uncommon in Minnesota

One variety, Coreopsis lanceolata var. villosa, has been described, based on the number and length of aerial internodes below the inflorescence. It has been suggested that this may be a hybrid between C. lanceolata and C. pubescens. Other varieties have been described based on leaf dissection and pubescence. However, the hairiness is highly variable, even on the same plant. None of the varieties have been widely accepted.

Plant

Flower head

Receptacle

Leaves

Infructescence

Location: Faiview Twp, Cass County