Angiosperms: Dicotyledons

Asteraceae
Daisy Family

• Stem: perennial; 1’ to 2’ tall; much branched; smooth; ribbed; with milky juice in the stems; often with spherical galls 1/4” in diameter.
• Leaves: alternate; tiny, lance-shaped (about 1/4” long); smooth.
• Inflorescence: single heads at the tips of the branches.
• Heads: three to five pink ray flowers per head, 3/16” long; fillaries in two rows, the outer (lower) very tiny, the inner 1/2” long with darkened tips; flowering from mid-June to mid-July.
• Fruits: “seeds” (fruits) 1/16” long; plumes of many fine hairs, 3/8” long; fruiting begins in late June.
• Habitat: common on Loess Hills prairies and dry, gravelly prairies; often associated with disturbance.
• Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Vascular Plants of Iowa