Coreopsis verticillata — thread-leaved tickseed

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Bract color

  the bracts are not colored or tinged with pink, red or purple

  Bract cycle number

  there are two main cycles of bracts

  Bract inner side hairs

  the bracts are not hairy on their inner surfaces

  Bract outer side hair type

  the bracts are not hairy on their outer surface

  Bract outer side hairs

  the bracts are not hairy on their outer surfaces

  Bract separation

  • at least some flower heads have bracts connected to one another at or near their bases
  • the bracts appear completely unconnected to one another on all flower heads

  Bract shape

  • the main bracts are lanceolate (widest above the base, then taper narrowly towards the tip)
  • the main bracts are linear (long and very narrow)

  Bract spines

  the bracts have no spines

  Bract texture

  • the bracts appear thin, flexible and nearly translucent
  • the bracts have a similar texture to a leaf

  Bract tip orientation

  the bracts are pressed against the plant, or spreading out at the tips

  Bract tip shape

  • the tips of the bracts acute (have a sharp point)
  • the tips of the bracts are rounded

  Bracts

  there are at least two distinct forms of bracts in different cycles

  Disk flower color

  yellow

  Disk flower lobe number

  5

  Disk flower number

  21-50

  Disk flower reproductive parts

  the disk flower has both pollen- and seed-producing parts

  Disk flower shape

  the disk flower is tube-shaped (cylindrical), or gradually widening like a funnel

  Disk width

  5–10 mm

  Flower head number

  each flowering stem has only one to three flower heads on it

  Flower head outer flowers

  at the outer edge of the flower head, each flower has a single enlarged lobe or strap

  Flower head platform

  the base has papery scales on it

  Flower head position

  each of the flower heads is separate on its own peduncle (stalk), not clustered in groups

  Flower head profile

  • the disk is flat or nearly flat across the top
  • the disk is rounded across the top

  Flower head shape

  the sides of the flower head are roughly parallel, like a cylinder

  Flower head width

  20–60 mm

  Flower type in flower heads

  the flower head has tubular disk flowers in the center and ray flowers, these often strap-shaped, around the periphery

  Height of flower head base

  6–7 mm

  Inflorescence branching (Solidago)

  NA

  Inflorescence shape

  the inflorescence is flat-topped in profile

  Number of bracts at flower head base

  16

  Ovary cross-section

  the ovary is compressed (flattened)

  Ovary profile

  • in profile, the ovary is oblong (roughly rectangular but rounded at the ends)
  • in profile, the ovary is roughly egg-shaped, but widest above the middle

  Ovary wing number

  1-2

  Peduncle hair type

  NA

  Peduncle hairs

  the peduncles have no hairs

  Peduncle length

  5–80 mm

  Ray flower color

  yellow

  Ray flower reproductive parts

  • the ray flowers have carpels or stamens, but not both
  • there are neither carpels nor stamens in the ray flowers

  Ray flowers

  6-10

  Ray length

  15–30 mm

  Reproductive system

  • all the flowers on the plant contain both carpels and stamens
  • some of the flowers on the plant have only carpels or stamens, while others have both carpels and stamens

  Scale tip

  • the scales are acute (sharply pointed) at the top
  • the scales are rounded at the top

  Smaller bracts at base of bracts

  there is a cycle of much smaller bracts outside the cycle of larger and longer bracts

  Style branch number

  the style has two branches

  Style branches

  the style branch is narrow at the tip, or the style branches are narrow at the tips

  Width of flower head base

  4–25 mm

• Fruits or seeds

  Number of pappus parts

  0

  Ovary length in developed fruit

  3–5 mm

  Ovary width in developed fruit

  1–1.7 mm

  Seed hair tuft length

  0–0.5 mm

  Seed hair tuft tips

  • NA
  • the pappus hairs are slender

  Seed tuft type

  • the pappus is made of stiff, tapering bristles
  • there is no pappus on the ovary

  Top of disk flower ovary

  NA

  Tuft or plume on fruit

  there is no plume, or the plume is made up of scales, awns, a crown, or a rim

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  NA

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant has one or more free-standing stems

  Plant lifespan

  the plant is perennial, it shows evidence of previous year's leaves, stems or stem bases

  Spines on plant

  the plant has no spines

  Underground organs

  the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

• Leaves

  Final leaf segment width (compound lvs only)

  0.3–1.5 mm

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf arrangement

  opposite: there are two leaves per node along the stem

  Leaf blade base

  • the leaf has a distinct petiole
  • the leaf has no petiole

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow

  Leaf blade edges

  • the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
  • the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes

  Leaf blade flatness

  the edges of the leaf are curled under

  Leaf blade hairs

  NA

  Leaf blade length

  5–45 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is filiform (extremely narrow, thread-like)
  • the leaf blade is linear (very narrow with more or less parallel sides)

  Leaf blade tip

  the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)

  Leaf blade veins

  the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base towards the tip

  Leaf blade width

  0.5–2 mm

  Leaf disposition

  the leaves are nearly similar in size, prominence of teeth, and length of stalks throughout the stem

  Leaf spines

  there are no spines on the leaf edges

  Leaf stalk

  • the leaves have leaf stalks
  • the leaves have no leaf stalks, but attach directly to the stem

  Leaf stalk length

  0–1 mm

  Leaf tip extension

  NA

  Leaf type

  leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

  Leaflet number

  3–5

  Specific leaf type

  • the leaf has lobes that radiate from the base, somewhat like a hand
  • the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Massachusetts

  Specific habitat

  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields

• Scent

  Plant odor

  NA

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem cross-section

  the flowering stem is circular, or with lots of small angles

  Leaves on stem

  there is at least one full leaf above the base of the flowering stem

  Stem internode hair direction

  • NA
  • the hairs point mostly upwards to outwards

  Stem internode hair length

  At least 0 mm

  Stem internode hair type

  • the hairs on the stem are plain, without glands or branches, and not tangled
  • the stem has no hairs between the nodes

  Stem internode hairs

  • the stem has hairs between the nodes
  • the stem has no hairs between the nodes

Wetland status

Not classified

In New England

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key