Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Starry Rosinweed - Silphium asteriscus var. latifolium   (A. Gray) J.A. Clevinger
Members of Asteraceae:
Members of Silphium with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Family Asteraceae
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Author(A. Gray) J.A. Clevinger
DistributionThis variety was named by J.A. Clevinger in 2004 and credited to NC. Weakley (2020) maps it is rare in the Mountains and Piedmont. However, there are no specimens so named or annotated in SERNEC. For the time being we will leave the map and much of the species account blank.
Abundance
Habitat
Phenology
IdentificationThe Silphium asteriscus complex consists of 5 varieties, according to FNA and Weakley, 4 of which occur in NC. Plants grow mostly 3-5 feet tall, with lance-shaped to ovate leaves and a rather small inflorescence of nearly erect branches terminating in yellow heads. Basal leaves are absent at flowering time. The involucral bracts (at the base of each head) are broad, rounded, and thick-textured; thus they differ strongly from bracts of sunflowers (Helianthus). Variety asteriscus and var. dentatum have rough surfaces to leaves, vs. smooth in var. latifolium. In addition, the latter has mostly opposite leaves (vs. mostly alternate in the two other varieties). It differs from var. trifoliatum in having mostly opposite leaves, vs. mostly whorled (3-4 per node).
Taxonomic CommentsA synonym is S. confertifolium.

Other Common Name(s)
State RankSNR
Global RankG5TNR
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
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