Helianthus ciliaris
Encyclopedia
Helianthus ciliaris is a species of sunflower
known by the common names Texas blueweed and yerba parda. It is native to much of the south-central United States and northern Mexico, but it can be found elsewhere in North America where it is an introduced species
and often a noxious weed. It is weedy even in much of its native range, growing readily in disturbed areas, on cultivated land, and along the roadside. It grows well in moist areas such as drainage ditches. This is a perennial herb with distinctive blue-green foliage growing to heights of 40 to 70 centimeters. It has a tough, horizontally spreading root system which sprouts new plants at distances from the parent, and can also sprout after being fragmented, so plowing the plant under can actually help it spread. The leaves are variable in size, shape, and arrangement, but are generally lance-shaped and wavy with rough hairs along the edges. The inflorescence
holds a mass of yellow-tipped red disc florets often surrounded by a fringe of several curling yellow ray florets, although some heads lack ray florets.
Helianthus
Helianthus L. is a genus of plants comprising 52 species in the Asteraceae family, all of which are native to North America, with some species Helianthus L. is a genus of plants comprising 52 species in the Asteraceae family, all of which are native to North America, with some species Helianthus...
known by the common names Texas blueweed and yerba parda. It is native to much of the south-central United States and northern Mexico, but it can be found elsewhere in North America where it is an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
and often a noxious weed. It is weedy even in much of its native range, growing readily in disturbed areas, on cultivated land, and along the roadside. It grows well in moist areas such as drainage ditches. This is a perennial herb with distinctive blue-green foliage growing to heights of 40 to 70 centimeters. It has a tough, horizontally spreading root system which sprouts new plants at distances from the parent, and can also sprout after being fragmented, so plowing the plant under can actually help it spread. The leaves are variable in size, shape, and arrangement, but are generally lance-shaped and wavy with rough hairs along the edges. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
holds a mass of yellow-tipped red disc florets often surrounded by a fringe of several curling yellow ray florets, although some heads lack ray florets.