Layia carnosa

Layia carnosa

Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Layia
Species: L. carnosa
Binomial name
Layia carnosa
(Nutt.) Torr. & A. Gray

Layia carnosa is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name beach tidytips, or beach layia. It is endemic to California, where it lives in beach habitat. It is known from several areas of mostly fragmented coastal habitat, and it is listed as an endangered species on the California state and federal levels.

Description

This is a petite annual herb producing a short, glandular stem along the ground or somewhat upright to a maximum length of about 18 centimeters. The fleshy green leaves are oval in shape, with the larger ones roughly lobed and up to 4 or 5 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is borne on a short peduncle. The flower head has a base of overlapping green phyllaries which form a cup to hold several small white ray florets. The center is filled with yellow disc florets with purple anthers.

The fruits are small achenes of two types. The ray florets yield hairy, curved fruits with no pappus, while the disc florets yield fruits with a long, hairlike pappus.

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, January 25, 2011. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.