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Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Dyssodia papposa — fetid-marigold

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Facts

Fetid-marigold is a native of the Central United States, and is probably ephemeral in the Northeast. The potential to live up to its common name was noted by C. W. Short in 1837: "This plant is so abundant, and exhales an odor so unpleasant as to sicken the traveler over the western prairies of Illinois, in autumn."

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

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Characteristics

Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
  • Massachusetts
  • Vermont
Leaf type
leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
Leaf arrangement
opposite: there are two leaves per node along the stem
Leaf blade edges
  • the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
  • the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
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
Ray flower color
  • orange
  • yellow
Tuft or plume on fruit
there is no plume, or the plume is made up of scales, awns, a crown, or a rim
Spines on plant
the plant has no spines
Leaf blade length
15–50 mm
Flower head width
6–14 mm
Disk flower number
  • 11-20
  • 21-50
  • more than 50
Show all characteristics
  • Flowers

    Bract color
    • the bracts are colored, or at least tinged with, pink, red or purple
    • the bracts are not colored or tinged with pink, red or purple
    Bract cycle number
    there are two main cycles of bracts
    Bract keels
    the bracts do not have keels
    Bract margins
    there are fine hairs along the bract margins
    Bract outer side hairs
    • the bracts are hairy on their outer surfaces
    • the bracts are not hairy on their outer surfaces
    Bract separation
    the bracts appear completely unconnected to one another on all flower heads
    Bract shape
    • the main bracts are oblanceolate (widest near the tip, but otherwise narrow and tapering)
    • the main bracts are ovate (egg-shaped)
    Bract spines
    the bracts have no spines
    Bract tip color
    the tips are the same color as the center of the bract
    Bract tip orientation
    the bracts are pressed against the plant, or spreading out at the tips
    Bract tip shape
    • the tips of the bracts are obtuse (have a blunt point)
    • the tips of the bracts are rounded
    • the tips of the bracts are truncate (end abruptly in a more or less straight line as though cut off)
    Bracts
    there are at least two distinct forms of bracts in different cycles
    Disk flower color
    • orange
    • yellow
    Disk flower lobe number
    5
    Disk flower number
    • 11-20
    • 21-50
    • more than 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
    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 no bristles or papery scales
    Flower head platform surface
    NA
    Flower head position
    • each of the flower heads is separate on its own peduncle (stalk), not clustered in groups
    • some or all the flower heads are grouped in clusters of two or more
    Flower head profile
    the disk is rounded across the top
    Flower head shape
    • the flower head is hemispherical (like the bottom half of a sphere)
    • the flower head is shaped like a cone with the point up
    Flower head width
    6–14 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
    6–10 mm
    Inflorescence branching (Solidago)
    NA
    Inflorescence shape
    NA
    Number of bracts at flower head base
    7–21
    Ovary cross-section
    the ovary has five or more corners in cross-section
    Ovary hair type
    • the ovary has hairs on it, but the hairs have no glands
    • the ovary has no hairs on it
    Ovary hairs
    • the ovary has hairs on it
    • the ovary has no hairs on it
    Ovary profile
    in profile, the ovary is another shape
    Peduncle hair type
    • NA
    • the hairs on the peduncles are simple (not branched), don’t have glands, and are not woolly
    Peduncle hairs
    • the peduncles are hairy
    • the peduncles have no hairs
    Peduncle length
    1–10 mm
    Ray flower color
    • orange
    • yellow
    Ray flower reproductive parts
    the ray flowers have carpels or stamens, but not both
    Ray flowers
    • 1-5
    • 6-10
    Ray length
    1.5–2.5 mm
    Reproductive system
    some of the flowers on the plant have only carpels or stamens, while others have both carpels and stamens
    Scale tip
    NA
    Style branch number
    the style has two branches
    Width of flower head base
    5–10 mm
  • Fruits or seeds

    Number of pappus parts
    11 or more
    Ovary length in developed fruit
    3–3.5 mm
    Seed hair tuft bases
    the pappus hairs are attached to one another near the base
    Seed hair tuft length
    1–3 mm
    Seed hair tuft tips
    the pappus hairs are slender
    Seed tuft scale number
    15–20
    Seed tuft type
    the pappus is made of flat scales that look split or frayed at the tips
    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

    Bract resin
    the bracts have resin or resin glands
    Leaf blade glands
    the leaf blades have glandular (translucent) dots or scales
    Sap
    the sap is clear and watery
  • Growth form

    Growth form
    the plant has one or more free-standing stems
    Plant lifespan
    • the plant is annual, it lacks evidence of previous years' growth
    • the plant is perennial, it shows evidence of previous year's leaves, stems or stem bases
    Spines on plant
    the plant has no spines
  • Leaves

    Hairs on underside of leaf blade
    • the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
    • 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 fuzzy or hairy
    • 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 no teeth or lobes
    • the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
    Leaf blade hairs
    • NA
    • the leaf blade has simple hairs with no glands, and not tangled or wooly
    Leaf blade length
    15–50 mm
    Leaf blade shape
    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
    10–40 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
    Leaf tip extension
    NA
    Leaf type
    leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
    Specific leaf type
    • the leaf has a row of two or more lobes on each side of the central axis
    • the leaf has a row of two or more lobes on each side of the central axis, and each lobe itself has rows of lobes on each side of the lobe's central axis
    • the leaf has lobes that themselves have lobes, and these secondary lobes also have lobes; there may be more than three levels of lobes
  • Place

    Habitat
    terrestrial
    New England state
    • Massachusetts
    • Vermont
    Specific habitat
    • man-made or disturbed habitats
    • meadows or fields
  • Scent

    Plant odor
    the plant has an unpleasant or repellant odor
  • 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 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
    Stem wings
    the stem does not have wings on it

Wetland status

Not classified

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
absent
Maine
present
Massachusetts
present
New Hampshire
absent
Rhode Island
absent
Vermont
present

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Massachusetts
not applicable (S-rank: SNA)

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

1.  Dyssodia papposa (Vent.) A.S. Hitchc. E

fetid-marigold. Boebera papposa (Vent.) Rydb. ex Britt.; Tagetes papposa Vent. • MA, VT; also reported from ME by Campbell et al. (1995), but specimens are unknown. Wool waste, fields, disturbed soil.

Native to North America?

Yes and no (some introduced)

Sometimes confused with

Schkuhria pinnata:
capitula with 0-2 ray flowers, involcural bracts sometimes with red to purple pigmentation and then this color usually restricted to the apex and margins, and pappus scales dimorphic and not divided at the apex (vs. D. papposa, with capitula with usually 5-8 ray flowers, involucral bracts sometimes with red to purple pigmentation and then this color usually uniformly distributed throughout except sometimes on the midrib, and pappus scales monomorphic and divided at the apex into bristles).

Synonyms

  • Boebera papposa (Vent.) Rydb. ex Britt.
  • Tagetes papposa Vent.

Family

Asteraceae

Genus

Dyssodia