Chaenactis douglasii

Chaenactis douglasii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Tribe:	Heliantheae
Genus:	Chaenactis
Species:	C. douglasii
Binomial name
Chaenactis douglasii (Hook.) Hook. & Arn.
Synonyms[1]
Synonymy Chaenactis achilleifolia Hook. & Arn. Chaenactis angustifolia Greene Chaenactis brachiata Greene Chaenactis cheilanthoides Greene Chaenactis cinerea Stockw. Chaenactis humilis Rydb. Chaenactis imbricata Greene Chaenactis pedicularia Greene Chaenactis pumila Greene Chaenactis ramosa Stockw. Chaenactis rubricaulis Rydb. Chaenactis suksdorfii Stockw. Hymenopappus douglasii Hook. Macrocarphus achilleifolius (Hook. & Arn.) Nutt. Macrocarphus douglasii (Hook.) Nutt.

Chaenactis douglasii is a North American species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name Douglas' dustymaiden.

Distribution

The plant is western Canada and the western United States from British Columbia to Saskatchewan, and south to California to New Mexico, with a few isolated populations in Nebraska and the Dakotas.^[2] It grows in a wide variety of habitats, including harsh environments such as rock fields in alpine climates in the Sierra Nevada, and disturbed areas such as roadsides.^[3]

Description

Chaenactis douglasii is a variable herb, generally a perennial. It grows erect to a maximum height near 50 or 60 centimeters (20–24 inches), with one to many stems coated in cobwebby hairs. The woolly or hairy leaves may be up to 15 centimeters (6 inches) long and are divided intricately into many lobes with curled or twisted tips.^[4]

The inflorescence produces one or more flower heads, each up to about 2 centimeters long. The flower head is lined with flat, glandular, blunt-pointed phyllaries and contains several white or pinkish tubular flowers with protruding anthers.^[4]

The fruit is an achene about a centimeter long including its pappus of scales.^[4]

Uses

Some Plateau Indian tribes used this plant as a dressing for burns, wounds, and sores.^[5]

Varieties

• Chaenactis douglasii var. alpina A.Gray
• Chaenactis douglasii var. douglasii

References

1. The Plant List, Chaenactis douglasii (Hook.) Hook. & Arn.
2. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
3. Calflora taxon report, University of California, Chaenactis douglasii (Hook.) Hook. & Arn., Chaenactis, Douglas' dustymaiden, hoary chaenactis
4. Flora of North America, Hoary pincushion, Douglas’s dustymaiden, Chaenactis douglasii (Hooker) Hooker & Arnott, Bot. Beechey Voy. 354. 1839.
5. Hunn, Eugene S. (1990). Nch'i-Wana, "The Big River": Mid-Columbia Indians and Their Land. University of Washington Press. p. 352. ISBN 0-295-97119-3.

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment of Chaenactis douglasii
• United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile for Chaenactis douglasii
• Chaenactis douglasii — Calphotos Photo gallery, University of California