Monolopia major

Monolopia major
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Monolopia
Species: M. major
Binomial name
Monolopia major
DC.

Monolopia major is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name cupped monolopia.

Distribution

The plant is endemic to central California, where it grows in the Central Valley and California Coast Ranges to the west. It can be found on open grasslands, often in clay soils.

Field of Monolopia major at Carrizo Plain National Monument, San Luis Obispo County.

Description

Monolopia major is an annual herb producing a slender, sometimes branching stem up to about 80 centimeters tall. It is usually somewhat woolly in texture.

The inflorescences at the ends of stem branches bear small hemispheric flower heads with fused phyllaries. The golden, yellow, or cream-colored ray florets are up to 2 centimeters long and have three-lobed tips. They surround a center of many disc florets.

The fruit is an achene about 2 to 4 millimeters long.

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, March 23, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.