Madia glomerata
Encyclopedia
Madia glomerata is a species of flowering plant in the aster family
known by the common name mountain tarweed.
, its native range covering much of western and northern North America
from Alaska
to the Southwestern United States
, most of southern Canada
and into the Great Lakes
region.
is generally a cluster of glandular flower heads
with black-tipped yellow disc florets and sometimes one or more tiny greenish or purplish yellow ray florets. The fruit is a flat black achene
with no pappus
.
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
known by the common name mountain tarweed.
Range
Madia glomerata is the most widely distributed MadiaMadia
-Species:*Madia anomala Greene - plumpseeded madia*Madia chilensis Reiche*Madia citrigracilis D.D.Keck - Shasta tarweed*Madia citriodora Greene - lemon-scented madia*Madia elegans D.Don ex Lindl. - common madia...
, its native range covering much of western and northern North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to the Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
, most of southern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and into the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
region.
Description
Madia glomerata grows in a wide variety of habitat types, including disturbed areas such as roadsides. It is an annual herb sometimes exceeding a meter in height, its stem branched or not and covered in foliage. It is hairy to bristly in texture, studded with stalked yellow resin glands, and strongly aromatic with an unpleasant scent. The rough-haired leaves are up to 10 centimeters long. The inflorescenceInflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is generally a cluster of glandular flower heads
Head (botany)
The capitulum is considered the most derived form of inflorescence. Flower heads found outside Asteraceae show lesser degrees of specialization....
with black-tipped yellow disc florets and sometimes one or more tiny greenish or purplish yellow ray florets. The fruit is a flat black achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
with no pappus
Pappus (flower structure)
The pappus is the modified calyx, the part of an individual disk, ray or ligule floret surrounding the base of the corolla, in flower heads of the plant family Asteraceae. The pappus may be composed of bristles , awns, scales, or may be absent. In some species, the pappus is too small to see...
.