leafy false goldenaster

Leafy false goldenaster is an erect, perennial forb that rises on 1 to 50 or more stems from a long, deeply penetrating taproot. It can be 8″ to 23″ tall, though it is usually no more than 16″ in height.

The stems are ascending to erect, rough to the touch, sometimes reddish-brown, and sometimes whitish near the top. They have up to 3 types of hairs. They are moderately to densely covered with straight, stiff, sharp, appressed hairs. They often have abundant long, coarse, stiff, spreading hairs. They are sometimes sparsely covered with gland-tipped hairs.

There are no basal leaves. Stem leaves are alternate and are not crowded. Lower stem leaves are inversely lance-shaped, ⅞″ to 1½″ long, and ⅛″ to 5 ⁄16″ wide. They are attached to the stem on short leaf stalks. The leaf blades are rounded at the base and broadly or moderately angled at the tip. There is sometimes a short, sharp, abrupt point at the tip. The upper and lower surfaces are rough to the touch due to a moderate to dense covering of straight, stiff, sharp, appressed hairs. The hairs may be dense enough to completely obscure the leaf surface. The surfaces may also be sparsely to densely covered with gland-tipped hairs. The margins are untoothed and flat, not wavy. There are straight, stiff, sharp, appressed hairs along the entire margin and sparse to abundant long, coarse, stiff, spreading hairs near the base. Lower stem leaves are usually absent at flowering time.

Upper stem leaves are similar, oblong, 7 ⁄16″ to 1⅛″ long, and ⅛″ to 5 ⁄16″ wide, sometimes becoming a little smaller as they ascend the stem.

The inflorescence is a cluster of usually 4 to 24, sometimes as many as 35, flower heads at the end of each stem. The flower heads are 1″ to 1½″ wide. They are on ⅝″ to 1½″ long stalks that are moderately to densely hairy but have no glandular hairs. The flower heads are subtended by 1 to 7 or more inversely lance-shaped, leaf-like bracts. The bracts are often long enough to extend beyond the head.

The whorl of bracts at the base of the flower head (involucre) is narrowly bell-shaped and ¼″ to 5 ⁄16″ wide. There may be 7 to 22 yellow ray florets, though there are usually at least 13. The strap-like portion of the ray floret is usually 5 ⁄16″ to 7 ⁄16″ long. There are 10 to 85, usually 20 to 50, yellow disk florets.

The fruit is a 1 ⁄16″ to ⅛″ long achene with 30 to 45 off-white bristles attached to the end. The achene is inversely cone-shaped, with the attachment at the narrow end, and has 4 to 10 ribs.

8″ to 16″

Yellow ray florets, yellow disk florets

Ballard’s goldenaster (Heterotheca villosa var. ballardii) stems and leaves do not have gland-tipped hairs. The hairs on the leaf surfaces are not dense enough to obscure the leaf surface. The bracts are often long enough to extend beyond the involucre, but not the head.

Hairy false goldenaster (Heterotheca villosa var. minor) upper leaves are narrowly to broadly inversely lance-shaped or oblong. The upper and lower leaf surfaces are sparsely to moderately covered with gland-tipped hairs. The flower heads are subtended by 1 to 7 or more bracts that are greatly reduced in size, usually linear-oblong, and are not leaf-like.

Hairy false goldenaster (Heterotheca villosa var. villosa) upper leaves are inversely lance-shaped. The flower heads are rarely subtended by bracts. When they are, those bracts are linear inversely lance-shaped, are greatly reduced in size, and are leaf-like.

Stiffleaf false golden aster (Heterotheca angustifolia) leaves are densely crowded and are pale green to grayish-green. The flower heads are subtended by 1 to 3 leaf-like bracts. The flower head stalks are no more than ⅝″ long.

Dry. Open places. Full sun.

July to October

Sources

4, 29, 30.

Native