Packera ganderi
Species of flowering plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Packera ganderi is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Gander's ragwort. It is endemic to southern California, where it is known from a few occurrences in San Diego and Riverside Counties.
| Packera ganderi | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Packera |
| Species: | P. ganderi |
| Binomial name | |
| Packera ganderi (T.M.Barkley & R.M.Beauch.) W.A.Weber & A.Löve | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Senecio ganderi | |
There are an estimated 4,000 plants in existence, but this number varies year to year because the plant becomes more abundant after its habitat burns in wildfires.[1]
It is a native of the fire-prone California chaparral plant community, where it grows in gabbro rock outcrops.
Description
Packera ganderi is a perennial herb producing a single upright stem which grows to a maximum height of 50 to 80 centimeters. It is mostly hairy and green, but may have some fuzzy areas and a purple tinge. The leaves have rounded or oval blades with toothed edges or shallow lobes. The blades are often thick and somewhat tough, measuring a few centimeters long and borne on petioles longer than themselves. Leaves occurring higher up the stem are smaller and most lack petioles.
The inflorescence contains up to 6 or 8 flower heads, each lined with green-tipped, yellow-edged phyllaries. The head contains many golden yellow disc florets and several orange ray florets each about a centimeter long.
