Wyethia. composite. 299 



85. WYETHIA. Nutt. in jour. acad. Philad. 7. f. 39, t. 5, (1834), S^-in 

 trans. Amer. jilnl. soc. I. c. {n. ser.) 7. p. 351. 

 Alargonia, DC. 1836. 

 Heads many-flowered ; the ray-flowers numerous, pistillate, and some- 

 times with sterile filaments. Scales of the campanulate involucre loosely 

 and irregularly imbricated in 2 or 3 series, somewhat equal, foliaceous, 

 as long as the disk; the innermost smaller and resembling the chaff'. Re- 

 ceptacle slightly convex ; the chaff lanceolate, carinate, acute, as long as 

 the flowers and partly embracing them. Rays large. Corolla of the disk 

 cylindrical, elongated, with a short proper tube, 5-toothed ; the teeth nearly 

 glabrous. Branches of the style in the ray-flowers glabrous ; in the disk 

 elongated, linear-filiform, revolute, strongly hispid, nearly smooth on the 

 back. Achenia stout, elongated, 4-5-angled, prismatic, terminated with a 

 rigid coroniform or calyciform 5-10-toothed or laciniale pappus, one or more 

 of the teeth usually prolonged into a rigid persistent awn. — Perennial herbs 

 (natives of Oregon and California), with somewhat the liabit of Helianthus 

 or Inula Helenium, furnished with long tap-roots, usually simple stems, 

 with alternate mostly entire veiny leaves, and large solitary heads. Flowers 

 of the ray and disk yellow. 



* Scales of the involucre Ibicar-lanceolate, immerous, more or less hirsute, as well as 

 stem and leaves : rays 12-20. 



1. W. helianthoicles (Nutt.) : dwarf; stem very hairy at the summit, 

 bearing a single head ; leaves lanceolate, entire, somewhat pubescent, with 

 scabrous margins, tapering into a petiole ; exterior scales of the involucre 

 linear, the inFerior lanceolate ; pappus short, unequally and obtusely 5-10- 

 toothed, and sometimes with a single slender awn. — Nutt. ! in jour. acad. 

 I. c. t. 5, S^'in trans. Amer. phil. soc. (w. ser.) 7. p. 351. 



" In the Kamas plains near the Flat-Head River, towards the sources of 

 the Oregon, and in the plains near the Blue Mountains of Oregon," Mr. 

 Wyel'h ! Nuttall 1 — About a span high. Rays pale yellow. Summit of the 

 achenium and the variable coroniform pappus minutely pubescent. — We 

 have not the means of satisfying ourselves whether this species is suffi- 

 ciently distinct from the following. 



2. W. robusta (Nutt.) : stem and midrib of the leaves villous-hirsute, 

 bearing a single head; cauline leaves lanceolate, acute, pubescent, entire, 

 tapering to the base, the lower petioled ; the radical large, elliptical-lanceo- 

 late, petioled, often sparingly serrate; scales of the involucre lanceolate, 

 very hirsute, especially on tlie margins; pappus of 5-10 irregular stout teeth 

 (silky-pubescent) and mostly of 1 to 4 stout awns. — Nutt. ! in trans. Amer. 

 phil. soc. I. c. Alarconia helenioides, DC. pirodr. o. p. 537 ? (and therefore 

 Wyethia helenioides, Nutt. I. c. ?) 



/3. leaves appearing somewhat glutinous ; the lower elongated lanceolate, 

 tapering into slender petioles. — Helianthus longifolius. Hook. ! Jl. Bor.-Am. 

 1. p. 312, Sf hot. Beechey, snppl. p. 353, as to the Oregon plant. H. Hook- 

 erianus, DC. prodr. 5. j). 590. 



"Plains of the Oregon near the confluence of the Wahlamct, common, in 

 wet places," Nuttall! /3. " Common in low moist soil on the jilains of the 

 Columbia near the ocean, the plains of the Multnomah, and in the vallies of 

 the Fi,ocky Mountains," Douglas! in herb. Hook. June. — Stem stout, li-3 



