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Home , Chrysogonum, Chrysogonum virginianum, Chrysoma, Cirsium discolor, Cirsium horridulum, Cirsium muticum

– ASTER FAMILY

Plant: herbs (annual or perennial), some shrubs, rarely vines or trees. Stem: : Often with tubers, rhizomes, stolons, or fleshy : mostly simple, some compound, alternate or opposite, rarely whorled. : head supported by an involucre (whorl of green or phyllaries); each head composed of small flowers (composite) of flat ray-like (ligulate) flowers on the outside (ray flowers) and central tube-like flowers (disk flowers) – some may have only one or the other. Calyx absent or modified into hairs, bristles, scales or a crown (pappus); 5 stamens (syngenesious -united by anthers); 5 united petals (sympetalous), receptacle may also have hairs or bristles. Both pappus and receptacle hairs/bristles may be used in ID. Fruit: achene (small, one-seeded, inferior ovule, 2 carpels, hard shell fruit) often with persisting crowned pappus which helps with seed dispersal. Other: Very large family, divided into sub-families and tribes, once named Compositae; 1-2,000 genera, 20,000+ species. Dicotyledons Group

WARNING – family descriptions are only a layman’s guide and should not be used as definitive ASTERACEAE – ASTER FAMILY

Straggler Daisy; Calyptocarpus vialis Less. (Introduced) Nodding [Plumeless] Thistle; Carduus nutans L. (Introduced) Garden Cornflower [Bachelor’s Button; Blue Bottle]; Centaurea cyanus L. (Introduced) Spotted Knapweed; Centaurea stoebe L. ssp. micranthos (Gugler) Hayek (Introduced) Woody [Bush] Goldenrod; pauciflosculosa (Michx.) Greene ( pauciflosculosa) Green and Gold; virginianum L. Soft Goldenaster; Chrysopsis pilosa Nutt. Chicory; Cichorium intybus L. (Introduced) Tall Thistle; altissimum (L.) Hill Canada Thistle; Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. Soft [Carolina] Thistle; Cirsium carolinianum (Walter) Fernald & B.G. Schub. Field [Pasture]Thistle; Cirsium discolor (Muhl. ex Willd.) Spreng. Yellow [Bristly; Horrid] Thistle; Cirsium horridulum Michx. var. horridulum Swamp [Fen] Thistle; Cirsium muticum Michx. Marsh [European] Swamp Thistle; Cirsium palustre (L.) Scop. (Introduced) Bull Thistle; (Savi) Ten. [Blue] Mist Flower; Conoclinium coelestinum (L.) DC. (Eupatorium coelestinum L.) Horseweed; Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq. var. canadensis Dwarf Horseweed [Fleabane]; Conyza Conyza ramosissima Cronquist (Erigeron divaricatus Michx.) Largeflower Tickseed; grandiflora Hogg ex Sweet Lanceleaf [Sand] Tickseed [Coreopsis]; Coreopsis lanceolata L. Stiff Tickseed [Prairie Coreopsis]; Coreopsis palmata Nutt. Star Tickseed; Coreopsis pubescens Ell. Golden Tickseed [Coreopsis]; Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. Tall Coreopsis [Tickseed]; Coreopsis tripteris L. Garden Cosmos; Cav. (Introduced) Straggler Daisy USDA Calyptocarpus vialis Less. (Introduced) Asteraceae (Aster Family) San Antonio, Note: ray flowers yellow, small (up to 1 cm) and notched, disk flowers yellow, bracts pointed, hairy; leaves ovate to more often deltoid, short petiolate, slightly toothed, densely hairy; stem with dense appressed hairs; often a sprawling lawn pest; summer to early fall [V Max Brown, 2010] Nodding [Plumeless] Thistle USDA Carduus nutans L. (Introduced) Asteraceae (Aster Family) Oak Opening Metropark, Lucas County, Notes: discoid; flower heads solitary, often nodding, pinkish-purple, bracts wide and spine-tipped, outer ones usually bent back (down), flower stalk is NOT winged; leaves deeply lobed and with spines; stem winged and spiny; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2008] Garden Cornflower USDA [Bachelor’s Button; Blue Bottle] Centaurea cyanus L. (Introduced) Asteraceae (Aster Family) Friedrich Wilderness Park, Bexar County, Texas Notes: discoid; florets usually blue but can also be pink or white, bracts ovate lanceolate with triangular teeth (not spine-tipped), flower solitary on tips of branches; lower leaves with linear lobes, upper leaves mostly linear; stem and leaves very hairy especially when young; summer to early fall [V Max Brown, 2010] Spotted Knapweed USDA Centaurea stoebe L. ssp. micranthos (Gugler) Hayek (Introduced) Asteraceae (Aster Family) Newport, Notes: discoid; white, pink or purple thistle-like flowers, solitary on tips of branches, base of flower covered with black-tipped fringed bracts (no spines); leaves divided into 2-4 pairs of narrow or linear segments, reduced upward; stem hairy especially when young, somewhat angled; summer to early fall [V Max Brown, 2006] Woody [Bush] Goldenrod USDA Chrysoma pauciflosculosa (Michx.) Greene (Solidago pauciflosculosa) Asteraceae (Aster Family) Point Washington State forest, Walton County, Notes: evergreen shrub; ray and disc flowers yellow, disc tubular, in dense terminal clusters above leaves; leaves alternate, sessile, entire, somewhat elliptical, glandular dotted, with a single vein; stem erect, woody and branched; most often in dunes and sand hills; spring to fall [V Max Brown, 2012] Green and Gold USDA L. Asteraceae (Aster Family) Close Memorian Park, Greene County, Springfield, Missouri Note: ray flowers yellow, small (up to 1.5+ cm) and notched at tip (usually “toothed”), fertile, disk flowers yellow (sterile), 2 series of 5 bracts pointed, hairy; leaves opposite, ovate to lanceolate-ovate, crenate, and hairy, petioles hairy; fruit a black nutlet; often a sprawling ; spring to early summer (a transplant to the gardens) [V Max Brown, 2014] Soft Goldenaster USDA Chrysopsis pilosa Nutt. Asteraceae (Aster Family) Alley Springs, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Shannon County, Missouri Notes: ray flowers yellow (15-30),disc flowers yellow, bracts in 3-4 series, linear and sharp pointed; leaves alternate, oblong-lanceolate, pubescent, sessile to somewhat clasping, a few teeth or entire, more with teeth toward base of plant; stem with lines (grooved), short to long pubescent, some glandular; plant often somewhat “sticky”; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2007] Chicory USDA Cichorium intybus L. (Introduced) Asteraceae (Aster Family) Maumee River Metroparks, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: ligulate; flowers sessile to very short-stalked, blue (rarely white or pink), many bracts in 2 series; basal and lower leaves lanceolate, sometimes shallowly lobed, toothed, somewhat pubescent to glabrous, much reduced upward; stem angled, slightly pubescent or not; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2004] Tall Thistle USDA Cirsium altissimum (L.) Hill Asteraceae (Aster Family) Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Greene County, Missouri Notes: discoid; flower pink to purple, solitary, bracts with short spines, on short leafy pedicel; leaves lanceolate, with teeth or shallow lobes but not usually pinnatifid, margins with spines, white wooly beneath, mostly glabrous above or with some pubescence; stem ridged and pubescent but not winged or woolly pubescent; late summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2010] Canada [Field] Thistle USDA Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. Asteraceae (Aster Family) Maumee River Metroparks, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: discoid; flower heads small and numerous in somewhat flat- topped clusters, pink to purple (rarely white), bracts with minute spines; leaves lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, mostly lobed, usually with spines, leafy up the stem, pubescence variable; stem glabrous to somewhat hairy, NOT winged; often colonial; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2004] Soft [Carolina] Thistle USDA Cirsium carolinianum (Walter) Fernald & B.G. Schub. Asteraceae (Aster Family) Greers Ferry Lake area, Cleburne County, Notes: discoid; flower purple, solitary, bracts with short spines, on long pedicels; leaves lanceolate, with very shallow teeth or lobes and spines, white wooly beneath, mostly glabrous or slightly hairy above, most leaves in basal half; stem ridged and glabrous to slightly hairy but not winged or woolly; late spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2011] Field [Pasture] Thistle USDA Cirsium discolor (Muhl. ex Willd.) Spreng. Asteraceae (Aster Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: discoid; flower pink to purple (sometimes white), solitary, bracts with spines; leaves deeply lobed, spiny, wooly white beneath, mostly glabrous above or with some hairs, small leaves often at base of flower; stem ridged and somewhat hairy, NOT winged or woolly; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2005] Yellow [Bristly; Horrid] Thistle USDA Cirsium horridulum Michx. var. horridulum Asteraceae (Aster Family) Amelia Island, Nassau County, Florida Notes: discoid; flower creamy yellow to pink, purple and/or white, solitary, involucre bracts with spines (often tinged in red); leaves basal and cauline, pinnatifid, abundant spines, matted wooly white hairs above and below; stem not winged, bases somewhat decurrent, stem with dense white wooly hairs (tomentose); erect plant; flatwoods to beaches and other environments; spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2013] Swamp [Fen] Thistle USDA Cirsium muticum Michx. Asteraceae (Aster Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: discoid; flower pink to purple (rarely white), solitary on long pedicels, bracts without spines, usually covered with a cobweb-like pubescence; leaves deeply lobed or pennatifid, somewhat spiny on margins, green and somewhat hairy beneath, mostly glabrous above or with some hairs, leaves reduced upward on stem; stem ridged but not winged or woolly pubescent; tall plant (1-2 m); fens and wetter areas; late summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2008] Marsh [European] Swamp Thistle USDA Cirsium palustre (L.) Scop. (Introduced) Asteraceae (Aster Family) Pictured Rocks national Lakeshore, Alger County, Michigan Notes: discoid; flower heads somewhat small (~ 1.5 cm) and numerous in clusters, pink to purple (rarely white), bracts with minute spines; leaves lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, deeply cut, edged with spines, long hairy on veins below, some hairs above or not; stem hairy, winged with spines; plants tall, often colonial; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2008] Bull Thistle USDA Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten. Asteraceae (Aster Family) Maumee River Metroparks, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: discoid; flowers solitary, short-stalked, pink to purple, bracts with yellow- tipped spines; leaves lanceolate to elliptical, shallow to mostly deeply lobed, spiny, mostly glabrous above, somewhat hairy but NOT woolly below; stem ridged, usually hairy, winged and spiny; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2004] Mist Flower [Blue Boneset] USDA Conoclinium coelestinum (L.) DC. (Eupatorium coelestinum L.) Asteraceae (Aster Family) Sam A. Baker State Park, Madison County, Missouri Notes: discoid; flower blue (rarely pink), many overlapping bracts (inner bracts often red-tipped), numerous flower heads in clusters; leaves opposite, often triangular with pointed tip, shallowly lobed to toothed, petiolate; stem hairy; often in colonies; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2006] Canada Horseweed [Fleabane] USDA Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq. var. canadensis Asteraceae (Aster Family) Maumee River Metroparks, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: flowers white to somewhat pinkish, small, rays upright; leaves mostly linear, often quite hairy along veins and margins, sessile or nearly so, upper leaves reduced; stem somewhat to very hairy; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2005] USDA Dwarf Horseweed [Fleabane] Conyza Conyza ramosissima Cronquist (Erigeron divaricatus Michx.) Asteraceae (Aster Family) Nixa, Christian County, Missouri Notes: ray florets white to pink to purple, disc florets similar, involucre up to 3 mm; ; leaves mostly sessile, linear, often quite appressed hairy; stem with upward appressed white hairs; plant usually < 20-30 cm high, erect to spreading, usually much branched near base; many habitats, often in lawns and disturbed areas; early summer to early fall [V Max Brown, 2013] Largeflower Tickseed USDA Coreopsis grandiflora Hogg ex Sweet Asteraceae (Aster Family) Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Greene County, Missouri Note: ray flowers yellow or a little orange, 3-5 notched or toothed, disk flowers yellow, bracts in 2 series; leaves 1-2 deeply pinnate or palmate divided, ultimate segments nearly linear, entire, sharp pointed; stem glabrous; spring to summer (variation in this species is complex) [V Max Brown, 2010] Lanceleaf [Sand] Tickseed USDA [Coreopsis] Coreopsis lanceolata L. Asteraceae (Aster Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Note: ray flowers yellow, each ray with usually 5 teeth, disk flowers yellow, sepals in 2 rows, triangular, flowers on very long pedicels; basal leaves - with long petioles, linear to lance-like, hairy, may be lobed, stem leaves usually divided; sandy areas usually; late spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2008] Stiff Tickseed [Prairie Coreopsis] USDA Coreopsis palmata Nutt. Asteraceae (Aster Family) Alley Springs, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Shannon County, Missouri Note: ray flowers yellow, 8-12, usually with few or no teeth, disk flowers yellow, phyllaries linear, 10-12, glabrous to slightly hairy; leaves opposite, divided, sessile, often 3 but sometimes 5 segments or lobes, linear; stems mostly glabrous but may be a little hairy at nodes; open woods or prairies; late spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2009] Star Tickseed USDA Coreopsis pubescens Ell. var. pubescens Asteraceae (Aster Family) Hwy 17 Bridge, Jacks Fork River, Howell County, Missouri Note: ray flowers yellow, notched, usually on 3 long pedicels, outer bracts ‘star-shaped’; leaves ovate to lanceolate-ovate, short petiolate, unlobed or may be deeply 3-lobed, usually entire, margins and under surface often hairy; stem somewhat to densely hairy; summer to early fall [V Max Brown, 2005] Golden Tickseed [Plains Coreopsis] USDA Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. Asteraceae (Aster Family) State Hwy 17 Bridge, Jacks Fork River, Howell County, Missouri Note: ray flowers yellow, notched or toothed, with dark reddish- brown base, disk flowers red-brown-purple, bracts in 2 series; leaves 1-2 pinnate, ultimate segments nearly linear, entire; summer to early fall (varieties – probably var. tinctoria below) [V Max Brown, 2007] Tall Coreopsis [Tickseed] USDA Coreopsis tripteris L. Asteraceae (Aster Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Note: ray flowers (8-12) yellow, minutely notched or usually not, disk yellow turning brown to red, 2 series of bracts; leaves opposite, deeply divided to base in mostly 3 (sometimes 5) leaflets, nearly sessile above to long petiolate below; stems mostly glabrous; often a very tall plant; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2004] Garden Cosmos USDA Cosmos bipinnatus Cav. (Introduced) Asteraceae (Aster Family) Van Buren area (roadside, HWY 60), Carter County, Missouri Note: ray flowers mostly pink (also purple or white), lobed, on long pedicels, outer bracts long and narrow with sharp tip, inner bracts more lanceolate to ovate (both with white margins); leaves 1-2 pinnate, segments linear; stem glabrous or slightly hairy; summer to fall (cultivated) [V Max Brown, 2010]