W171 



COLUMBIA BUTTERWEED 



Sene'cio columbia'nus, syn. S. atriapicula' tus 



Outside (ray) flowers of head 8 to 

 12, yellow, petal-like, female, seed- 

 prod ueing 



Center (disk) flowers of head small, 

 yellow, tubular, perfect, seed-producing 



"Seed" (achene) light-colored, tho 

 body hairless hut tipped by a tuft of 

 numerous, long, soi't, white, slender 

 hairs (pappus) 



Flower heads many, erect, usually in 

 a flat-topped end cluster (corymb) 



Bracts in a bell-shaped, 1 -rowed series 

 (involucre) around flower head, more 

 than '.; as long as flower head, often 

 with a few small bracts at base; each 

 'bract rather thick, lance-shaped, with 

 a triangular, often black tip 



Leaves alternate, thick, usually 

 toothed, variable in shape, shaggy with 

 soft, weak hairs, especially when young; 

 upper leaves smaller than lower leaves, 

 lance-shaped, tapering-pointed, stalk- 

 less 



Stems solitary, usually 10 to 24 in. 

 high, white-woolly-hairy especially at 

 base and top and when plant is young 



Lower leaves spatula-shaped, usually 

 rounded at tips, with long, narrowed 

 bases, stalked, with lower part of stalk 

 clasping or sheathing the stem 



Roots numerous, fibrous, rattier 

 fleshy, often clustered 



Columbia butterweed, sometimes called Columbia groundsel, Co- 

 lumbia senecio, and small butterweed, is a relatively small, leafy, 

 perennial herb. It is fairly characteristic of many of the dry-land 

 species of Senecio and, because it is one of the more palatable and 

 common range species, it has been selected for this handbook as 

 illustrative of this group of the large Senecio genus. Generally, 

 range men refer to the more palatable species of Senecio as butter- 

 weeds, apparently alluding to the characteristic butter-colored flow- 



