Agoseris aurantiaca

Agoseris aurantiaca is a species of plant in the sunflower family, commonly called orange agoseris or mountain dandelion. It is widespread and common in western North America from Alaska and the Northwest Territories in Canada southward to California, Arizona, and New Mexico, and eastward as far as the Rocky Mountains and the Black Hills. There are also isolated populations in the Chic-Choc Mountains on the Gaspe Peninsula and in the Otish Mountains of central Quebec.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Agoseris aurantiaca
Agoseris aurantiaca var. aurantiaca
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
Asterales
Family:
Asteraceae
Subfamily:
Cichorioideae
Tribe:
Cichorieae
Genus:
Agoseris
Species:
A. aurantiaca
Binomial name
Agoseris aurantiaca
Synonyms[1]

Agoseris aurantiaca is primarily a species of mountainous regions and may be found in wet to dry habitats. It is a perennial herb producing a basal rosette of leaves. There is no stem, but it does produce several stem-like peduncles, each peduncle bearing a single flower head surrounded by glabrous to hairy phyllaries. The head is ligulate, containing several ray florets but no disc florets. The florets are most commonly orange but are occasionally yellow, pink, red, or purple. "Aurantiaca" means "orange-red".[8]:111 The flower head matures into a ball-like head of beaked achenes, each with a terminal pappus of numerous, white bristles.[4]

Varieties[1][4]
  • Agoseris aurantiaca var. aurantiaca - most of species range
  • Agoseris aurantiaca var. purpurea (A.Gray) Cronquist - southern Rocky Mountains

Use among Native Americans

A cold infusion of this plant is used by the Ramah Navajo for protection against witches.[9]

References
  1. The Plant List, search for Agoseris aurantiaca
  2. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  3. Calflora taxon report, University of California, Agoseris aurantiaca (Hook.) E. Greene orange agoseris, orange flowered agoseris
  4. Flora of North America, Agoseris aurantiaca
  5. Cody, W. J. 1996. Flora of Yukon Territory i–xvii, 1–669. NRC Research Press, Ottawa.
  6. Hultén, E. 1968. Flora of Alaska i–xxi, 1–1008. Stanford University Press, Stanford
  7. Porsild, A. E. & W. Cody. 1980. Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Northwest Territories Canada i–viii, 1–607. National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa
  8. Great Basin Wildflowers, Laird R. Blackwell, 2006, Morris Book Publishing LLC., ISBN 0-7627-3805-7
  9. "Agoseris auranitaca". Herb.umd.umich.edu. Retrieved 2014-03-04.


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