Townsendia condensata
Encyclopedia
Townsendia condensata is a species of flowering plant in the aster family
known by the common name cushion Townsend daisy. It is native to North America where it is known from many scattered occurrences in the mountains of the western United States and Alberta
in Canada. It is mainly limited to the alpine climate
s of high mountain peaks, where it grows in meadows, tundra
, and barren, rocky talus
. It grows alongside other alpine plants such as Eriogonum androsaceum.
This is a petite biennial or perennial herb taking a clumped form just a few centimeters tall, its herbage growing on a caudex
and taproot
unit. The leaves are 1 or 1.5 centimeters long, rounded, and coated in woolly hairs. The inflorescence
is generally a solitary flower head
1 to 3 centimeters wide with rough-haired, lance-shaped phyllaries
. The head contains many yellow disc florets and many white, pinkish, or purplish ray florets each measuring up to 16 millimeters in length. The fruit is a hairy achene
tipped with a deciduous pappus
of bristles.
One variety of this species, var. anomala, the North Fork Easter-daisy, is endemic to the Absaroka Mountains
of Wyoming
, mostly in the drainage of the North Fork of the Shoshone River
.
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
known by the common name cushion Townsend daisy. It is native to North America where it is known from many scattered occurrences in the mountains of the western United States and Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
in Canada. It is mainly limited to the alpine climate
Alpine climate
Alpine climate is the average weather for a region above the tree line. This climate is also referred to as mountain climate or highland climate....
s of high mountain peaks, where it grows in meadows, tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
, and barren, rocky talus
Scree
Scree, also called talus, is a term given to an accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, or valley shoulders. Landforms associated with these materials are sometimes called scree slopes or talus piles...
. It grows alongside other alpine plants such as Eriogonum androsaceum.
This is a petite biennial or perennial herb taking a clumped form just a few centimeters tall, its herbage growing on a caudex
Caudex
A caudex is a form of stem morphology appearing as a thickened, short, perennial stem that is either underground or near ground level . It may be swollen for the purpose of water storage, especially in xerophytes...
and taproot
Taproot
A taproot is an enlarged, somewhat straight to tapering plant root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally.Plants with taproots are difficult to transplant...
unit. The leaves are 1 or 1.5 centimeters long, rounded, and coated in woolly hairs. 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...
is generally a solitary flower head
Head (botany)
The capitulum is considered the most derived form of inflorescence. Flower heads found outside Asteraceae show lesser degrees of specialization....
1 to 3 centimeters wide with rough-haired, lance-shaped phyllaries
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
. The head contains many yellow disc florets and many white, pinkish, or purplish ray florets each measuring up to 16 millimeters in length. The fruit is a hairy achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
tipped with a deciduous pappus
Pappus (flower structure)
The pappus is the modified calyx, the part of an individual disk, ray or ligule floret surrounding the base of the corolla, in flower heads of the plant family Asteraceae. The pappus may be composed of bristles , awns, scales, or may be absent. In some species, the pappus is too small to see...
of bristles.
One variety of this species, var. anomala, the North Fork Easter-daisy, is endemic to the Absaroka Mountains
Absaroka Range
The Absaroka Range is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about 150 mi across the Montana-Wyoming border, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park and the western side of the Bighorn Basin. The range borders the Beartooth Mountains...
of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, mostly in the drainage of the North Fork of the Shoshone River
Shoshone River
The Shoshone River is long river in northern Wyoming in the United States. Its headwaters are in the Absaroka Range in Shoshone National Forest. It ends when it runs into the Big Horn River near Lovell, Wyoming. Cities it runs near or through are Cody, Powell, Byron, and Lovell. Near Cody, it...
.