The BioFiles - Bill Hubick

Gumweed (Grindelia stricta) (1)

Source: Wikipedia

Grindelia stricta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Grindelia
Species:
G. stricta
Binomial name
Grindelia stricta

Grindelia stricta is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names Oregon gumplant, Oregon gumweed and (in Britain and Ireland) coastal gumplant.[1] It is native to the west coast of North America from California to Alaska, where it is a resident of coastal plant communities such as those in marshes and beaches. This plant is variable in appearance, taking the form of a weedlike perennial herb forming low clumps to a sprawling subshrub growing erect to heights exceeding one meter. Its foliage and stems are green to rusty red or purplish and the plant may be hairy to hairless. The fleshy leaves are green, often with red edges and veining, and are up to 15 centimeters in length on large plants. The inflorescence holds one or more flower heads each up to 5 centimeters wide. The flower head is a cup of thick erect or recurved green phyllaries. Yellow disc florets fill the center of the flower head and there is a fringe of yellow ray florets around the circumference. The head produces copious amounts of white latex, especially in the early stages of blooming.

References

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  1. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
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Grindelia stricta, showing characteristic latex-covered buds, Half Moon Bay (California)