Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Grassleaf Barbara's-buttons - Marshallia graminifolia   (Walter) Small
Members of Asteraceae:
Members of Marshallia with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Order Asterales » Family Asteraceae
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Author(Walter) Small
DistributionCoastal Plain and Sandhills; absent from the northern and northeastern Coastal Plain.

A limited range: Coastal Plain, NC to southern SC; Emanuel County, GA.
AbundanceLocally common in Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) wetlands in the southern Coastal Plain and Sandhills; uncommon to locally fairly common in the central Coastal Plain.
HabitatMoist Longleaf Pine-Wiregrass savannas and flatwoods, pocosin ecotones, blackwater streamhead ecotones, sandhill seeps.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting late July - mid October.
IdentificationFlowers of the genus Marshallia are composed only of disk florets and are notable for having their outer portions (limbs) twisted or contorted, which imparts a "ruffled" look to the head, which is wider than tall. Grassleaf Barbara's-buttons grows mostly 1-2 feet tall, with a very few strongly ascending branches from midstem. Basal leaves are lance-shaped and stalked, while stem leaves are linear and stalkless. The head, solitary on a branch tip, is pale pink or pale purple, less often white, about 1 inch wide. This is a very handsome plant, especially when seen in a sizable stand!
Taxonomic CommentsNone

Other Common Name(s)None
State RankS4
Global RankG4
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US Status
USACE-agcpOBL link
USACE-empOBL link
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photographercommentsphoto_linkcountyobsType
B.A. SorrieSame data, late July 2010. RichmondPhoto_natural
B.A. SorrieSandhills Game Land, moist ecotone N of Nursery Lane, Aug 2015. RichmondPhoto_natural
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