Angiosperms: Dicotyledons

Asteraceae
Daisy Family

• Stem: perennial; 3’ tall; unbranched; smooth; with milky juice in the stem and leaves.
• Leaves: alternate; crowded on the stem; oval, tapered to both bases and tips; sessile; 2” by 3/4”; irregularly toothed; lightly to stoutly hairy above and below.
• Inflorescence: branching flower stalks from stem tip and upper leaf axils; hairy; corymbiform.
• Heads: only ray flowers; yellow rays, 3/8” long, with toothed tips; heads 1” to 1 1/2” across; fillaries lance-shaped, overlapping, smooth; flowering from early August to late September.
• Fruits: “seeds” (fruits) 1/16” long, dark brown; plumes 1/8” long; fruiting begins in mid-August.
• Habitat: infrequent on moist to upland prairies and in woodland edges.
• Notes: Eilers and Roosa (1994) recognize Hieracium canadense Michx., with longer and finer hairs on the leaves, as a distinct species rarely found in eastern Iowa.
• Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Vascular Plants of Iowa