Heliopsis 



COMPOSITAE 



963 



o 50 



Map 2109 



Xanthium italicum Moretti 



^30 

 Map 2110 



Heliopsis helianthoides (L ) Sweet 



9157. HELIOPSIS Pers. 



1. Heliopsis helianthoides (L.) Sweet. Sunflower Heliopsis. Map 

 2110. Found throughout the state, preferring open areas and moist soils. 

 It is most frequently found in open woodland in the alluvial bottoms 

 along streams and along roadsides. I have it from 47 counties, and I find 

 that my specimens are highly variable, and I am not able to divide them 

 on the characters given in the manuals. The leaves are not smooth on any 

 of my specimens. All of them are more or less scabrous to the touch 

 either above or beneath. Sometimes the upper surface is more scabrous 

 than the lower, and in other specimens the reverse is true. The width 

 of the largest median leaf varies from 3 to 10 cm. The apex of the leaves 

 varies from acuminate to short-acute. The margins are variously cut, and 

 the number of teeth is exceedingly variable. The petioles of the median 

 leaves are from 1 to 4 cm long. The stems of all of my specimens are 

 comparatively smooth, only rarely with a somewhat scabrous internode. 

 The heads vary from less than 1 cm to 2 cm wide and are very variable 

 on the same plant. The number of heads varies from one to many. The 

 crown of the achene varies in height and smoothness. 



Heliopsis scabra Dunal has been often reported from the state, and I 

 have two specimens, one from Hamilton County and one from Tipton 

 County, that some authors might refer to this species. While this species 

 in its extremes seems to be distinct, I believe that all Indiana material 

 should be referred to one highly variable complex. The descriptions of the 

 two species by different authors show that the differences between them 

 are slight and that there are exceptions to these differences. 



My plants with largest leaves, longest petioles, and smoothest leaves 

 are from deep woodland, and those with the smallest and most scabrous 

 leaves are from prairie habitats, although larger intermediates are also 

 found in prairie habitats. 



Nieuwland, however, on June 24, 1909, found a specimen of what I would 

 call the typical form of Heliopsis scabra Dunal along the Grand Trunk 



