The BioFiles - Bill Hubick

    Leafcup (Polymnia canadensis)

    Source: Wikipedia

    Polymnia canadensis
    1913 illustration[1]
    Scientific classification Edit this classification
    Kingdom: Plantae
    Clade: Tracheophytes
    Clade: Angiosperms
    Clade: Eudicots
    Clade: Asterids
    Order: Asterales
    Family: Asteraceae
    Genus: Polymnia
    Species:
    P. canadensis
    Binomial name
    Polymnia canadensis
    L. 1753
    Synonyms[2]
    • Polymnia radiata (A.Gray) Small

    Polymnia canadensis, commonly known as whiteflower leafcup, is a flowering perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to eastern North America from Ontario south to Alabama and from Kansas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota east to North Carolina, Vermont and Connecticut.[3] It is considered endangered in the last two states.[4] It is typically found in moist forests over calcareous rocks.[5]

    Description

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    Polymnia canadensis, commonly known as "bears foot" or "small-flowered leafcup", is more easily identified by features other than the small flowers which are present only in the late summer. The plant reaches a height of 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) and blooms May to October.[6] Often it grows in stands of several plants clustered together. The leaves vary in shape from deeply lobed leaves at the lower part of the plant to the simple leaves at the upper part of the plant (see photo). The sap is clear, sticky and pleasantly fragrant.[7]

    Entire plant
    Leaves
    Flowers

    References

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    1. ^ illustration from Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 3: 458.
    2. ^ The Plant List, Polymnia canadensis L.
    3. ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
    4. ^ "Plants Profile Polymnia canadensis L. whiteflower leafcup". United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
    5. ^ Alan Weakley (2015). "Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States".
    6. ^ Denison, Edgar (2017). Missouri Wildflowers. Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-887247-59-7.
    7. ^ Flora of North America: Polymnia canadensis
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