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• Asteraceae Group 1
• Helminthotheca
• Helminthotheca echioides

Helminthotheca echioides — bristly ox-tongue

Facts

Bristly ox-tongue originates in the Mediterranean of Europe, but has spread around the world, including parts of North America. Its name comes from the rough hooked bristles covering the stems and bracts, and the coarse leaves with pimple-like protrusions.

Habitat

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

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Bract cycle number

  there is one main cycle of bracts

  Bract margins

  there are fine hairs along the bract margins

  Bract outer side hair type

  the bracts are hairy, with simple hairs on their outer surface

  Bract outer side hairs

  the bracts are hairy on their outer surfaces

  Bract shape

  the main bracts are of a different shape than the given options

  Bract spines

  • the bracts are prickly on the outer side
  • there is just one simple spine at the tip of the bract

  Bract tip extension appearance

  the projections from the bract tips have further projections from their edges, like a fringe

  Bract tip shape

  the tips of the bracts are acuminate (tapered to a narrow point)

  Bract width

  3.5–8

  Bracts

  the bracts in separate cycles are similar or gradually changing from the outer to inner cycles

  Disk flower color

  NA

  Disk flower lobe number

  NA

  Disk flower number

  NA

  Disk flower proportions

  NA

  Disk flower reproductive parts

  NA

  Disk flower shape

  NA

  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 profile

  the disk is flat or nearly flat across the top

  Flower head shape

  NA

  Flower type in flower heads

  the flower head has ray flowers only, meaning all of the individual flowers of the flower head have a strap-shaped ray, which may or may not have teeth at the very tip of the ray

  Height of flower head base

  12–20 mm

  Inflorescence branching (Solidago)

  NA

  Inflorescence shape

  the inflorescence is flat-topped in profile

  Number of bracts at flower head base

  5–13

  Ovary beak

  there is a beak on the ovary

  Ovary cross-section

  • the ovary has five or more corners in cross-section
  • the ovary is compressed (flattened)

  Ovary hair type

  the ovary has hairs on it, but the hairs have no glands

  Ovary hairs

  • the ovary has hairs on it
  • the ovary has no hairs on it

  Ovary lines or ribs

  • there are four to six lines or ribs visible on the ovary
  • there are seven to nine ribs visible on the ovary
  • there are ten or more ribs visible on the ovary

  Ovary profile

  • in profile, the ovary is another shape
  • in profile, the ovary is roughly elliptical (widest in the middle, tapering to both ends)

  Ovary surface

  the ovary surface is textured with tiny points, bumps or wrinkles

  Peduncle hair type

  the hairs on the peduncles are simple (not branched), don’t have glands, and are not woolly

  Peduncle hairs

  the peduncles are hairy

  Peduncle length

  10–50 mm

  Ray flower color

  • pink to red
  • yellow

  Ray flower reproductive parts

  the ray flowers have both carpels and stamens

  Ray flowers

  • 26-50
  • more than 50

  Reproductive system

  all the flowers on the plant contain both carpels and stamens

  Smaller bracts at base of bracts

  there is no smaller, outer cycle of bracts

  Style branch number

  the style has two branches

  Swelling at base of flower head

  the peduncles are not swollen, or only slightly

  Width of flower head base

  9–12 mm

• Fruits or seeds

  Number of pappus parts

  • 10
  • 11 or more

  Ovary beak length

  2–6 mm

  Ovary length in developed fruit

  2–6 mm

  Seed hair tuft bases

  the pappus hairs are attached to one another near the base

  Seed hair tuft details

  the pappus hairs have smaller hairs along their sides

  Seed hair tuft length

  4–7 mm

  Seed hair tuft tips

  the pappus hairs are slender

  Seed tuft type

  the pappus is made of very fine hairs or bristles

  Tuft or plume on fruit

  at least a part of the plume is made up of fine bristles

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  the sap is milky and opaque, and may be white or colored

• 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 biennial, it appears as either first year (non-reproductive) plants or second year plants with flowers or fruit

  Spines on plant

  there are spines on the plant

  Underground organs

  there is a thickened taproot on the plant

• Leaves

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy

  Leaf arrangement

  • alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
  • basal: the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant
  • 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 bloom

  the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom

  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 teeth

  Leaf blade hairs

  the leaf blade has simple hairs with no glands, and not tangled or wooly

  Leaf blade length

  50–250 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is oblanceolate (lance-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
  • the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)

  Leaf blade tip

  • the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is obtuse (bluntly pointed)

  Leaf blade width

  10–80 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 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 leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Leaves on stem

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

  Stem internode hair direction

  the hairs point mostly upwards to outwards

  Stem internode hair type

  the hairs on the stem are plain, without glands or branches, and not tangled

  Stem internode hairs

  the stem has hairs between the nodes

Wetland status

Occurs only in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: UPL)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae