the dry plains and foothill ranges from Manitoba and Minnesota to 

 Texas, New Mexico, California, and British Columbia. This plant 

 usually occurs on dry, sandy, or rocky soils from fairly low to medium 

 elevations, but is sometimes found in open, drier sites of the higher 

 mountains between altitudes of about 8,000 and 12,000 feet. Hairy 

 golden-aster is notably resistant to drought and intense light and 

 heat. Both the common and specific names allude to the white hairs 

 (some stiff, others soft) which cover the plant, vttlosa being a Latin 

 adjective which means soft, shaggy, hairy. 



Because its leaves are rather harsh and the stems woody, this spe- 

 cies is not particularly palatable to livestock; in fact, it usually is 

 considered practically worthless, although on some of the desert 

 ranges it has a fair palatability for sheep. This quite variable plant, 

 which has several named forms, is used in ornamental borders. 



GOLDEN-ASTERS (Chrysop'sis spp.) 



Golden-asters compose a relatively small genus of possibly 30 or 

 more species of herbaceous plants native to North America. Repre- 

 sentatives of this genus occur practically throughout the United 

 States and even extend into Mexico. This genus was christened 

 Chrysopsis because of its yellow flowers, the name being derived from 

 the Greek chrysos, golden, and opsis, aspect. The flowers resemble 

 those of asters (Aster spp.), but are superficially distinguished by 

 the golden tint of the outer flowers (rays) of the head, whence the 

 common name, golden-aster. 



In the West, these plants thrive on dry, frequently sandy, or rocky 

 sites in full sunlight, from the low plains and hills to near timberline 

 in the mountains. The strong, deep taproots of golden-asters some- 

 times penetrate the soil to a depth of over 8 feet 1 and facilitate 

 their existence in dry places. Because of this fact, coupled with 

 their ability to grow on the poorer, dry soils, they are locally valu- 

 able as soil binders. Although frequently abundant, these species 

 never occur in pure stands. On some of the poor semidesert areas 

 of the West, these plants are fair forage for sheep but, under more 

 normal range conditions, are usually classed as worthless for all 

 classes of livestock. 



The western golden-asters are perennials (occasionally biennials or 

 annuals) with a persistent, woody base. As a rule, both stems and 

 leaves are conspicuously hairy or woolly, varying from soft-silky 

 to stiff-bristly or sometimes both soft and stiff hairs occur in combi- 

 nation on the same plant; a few species are hairless or glandular- 

 resinous. The alternate leaves are mostly without stalks (sessile), 

 entire-edged, and noticeably hairy. The medium-sized, showy, 

 golden-yellow flower heads, usually having many ray flowers (rarely 

 ray less), are borne singly or in somewhat elongated clusters; the 

 more or less bell-shaped cup of the flower head (involucre) comprises 

 several series of narrow, overlapping bracts. The double arrange- 

 ment of hairs (pappus) crowning the flattened, hairy body of the 

 seedlike fruits (achenes) is characteristic of the genus. 



1 Weaver, J. E. THE ECOLOGICAL RELATIONS OF ROOTS. Carnegie Inst. Wash. Pub. 286, 

 128 pp., illus. 1919. 



