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• Dichotomous Key
• Asteraceae
• Asteraceae Group 6
• Verbesina
• Verbesina alternifolia

Verbesina alternifolia — wingstem crownbeard

Facts

Wingstem crownbeard is native to North America, mostly to the west and south of New England. Although it has been collected in Massachusetts, it is considered non-native in our region. It can become quite tall when grown under optimum conditions (13 ft or 4 m).

Habitat

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

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Bases of bract appendages

  NA

  Bract cycle number

  • there are two main cycles of bracts
  • there is one main cycle of bracts

  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 shape

  • the main bracts are linear (long and very narrow)
  • the main bracts are oblanceolate (widest near the tip, but otherwise narrow and tapering)

  Bract spines

  the bracts have no spines

  Bract tip orientation

  the tips of the bracts curve outwards and downwards from the plant

  Bracts

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

  Disk flower color

  yellow

  Disk flower number

  • 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

  Disk width

  10–15 mm

  Flower head number

  each flowering stem has four or more 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

  some or all the flower heads are grouped in clusters of two or more

  Flower head profile

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

  10–15 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

  Inflorescence branching (Solidago)

  NA

  Inflorescence shape

  • the flower heads grow in clusters from the axils of the branches or leaves
  • the inflorescence is not flat-topped but appears rounded, with some flower heads distinctly higher than others

  Number of bracts at flower head base

  8–12

  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
  • 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 lance-shaped, but widest above the middle
  • in profile, the ovary is roughly egg-shaped, but widest above the middle

  Ovary wing number

  1-2

  Ray flower color

  yellow

  Ray flower reproductive parts

  there are neither carpels nor stamens in the ray flowers

  Ray flowers

  • 1-5
  • 6-10

  Ray length

  15–30 mm

  Reproductive system

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

  Width of flower head base

  5–30 mm

• Fruits or seeds

  Number of pappus parts

  2

  Ovary length in developed fruit

  4.5–5 mm

  Ovary width in developed fruit

  2–3 mm

  Seed hair tuft bases

  NA

  Seed hair tuft color

  NA

  Seed hair tuft details

  the pappus hairs are smooth and plain

  Seed hair tuft length

  1.5–2 mm

  Seed hair tuft tips

  the pappus hairs are slender

  Seed hairs uniform

  NA

  Seed tuft type

  the pappus is made of stiff, tapering bristles

  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

  the sap is clear and watery

• 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 length (compound lvs only)

  0 mm

  Final leaf segment width (compound lvs only)

  0 mm

  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

  alternate: there is one leaf 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

  100–250 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 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

  20–80 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 tip extension

  NA

  Leaf type

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

  Leaflet number

  0

  Specific leaf type

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

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  Massachusetts

  Specific habitat

  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields

• 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

  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
  • 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 has wings on it that run down the stem from the leaf nodes

Wetland status

Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACW)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae