Senecio eremophilus

   
Cut-leaved Ragwort

Flower Head Bottom

Max Lake
Turtle Mountain Provincial Park
Manitoba
30-July-2004

Note that the key to the genera in Flora of Alberta requires that the outer involucral bracts be "very much shorter" than the inner ones.  However, in this species the outer bracts are as long or longer than the inner ones.

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Eremophilus:  Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this species.  
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perennial plants, usually with rootstocks; NOT annual plants with taproots

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tall plants, 3 dm high or more, often 1 m; NOT low plants

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no prominent tuft of basal leaves

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cauline leaves well developed, only gradually reduced upwards

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basal and stem leaves deeply pinnatifid, the lobes often toothed; basal leaves NOT dentate, basal leaves NOT shallowly lobed, leaves NOT triangular-lanceolate, leaves NOT dentate, leaves NOT subentire

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leaf-blades mostly 4 cm long or more; NOT less than 3 cm

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flower heads few to many; NOT solitary

 
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Senecio: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this genus. 
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leaves alternate; NOT opposite

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involucral bracts uniseriate, equal, narrow, commonly with a few very much shorter outer ones at the base; NOT imbricate in two or more series, NOT broad, NOT somewhat leafy (Flora of Alberta)

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involucral bracts NOT imbricated

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flower head with florets both tubular and ray

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ray florets yellow; NOT blue, NOT purple, NOT white

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stamens united to form a tube around the pistil

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pappus composed of hairs; NOT composed of scales or bristles (Budd's Flora)

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pappus simple, the bristles sometimes unequal, but NOT distinctly divided into two lengths; pappus NOT double, NO outer series that is inconspicuous and very much shorter than the inner (Flora of Alberta)