Showy goldeneye, a perennial herb with golden-yellow, sunflower- 

 like flower heads, is sometimes known as rosinweed and as little, 

 small, many-flowered, or mountain sunflower. This species has no 

 well-established common name; showy goldeneye is suggested as a 

 new, appropriate, distinctive, and easily pronounced name in the 

 hope that it will win popular favor. The plant ranges from south- 

 ern Montana to New Mexico, Mexico, Arizona, California, and 

 Idaho, extending over a considerable altitudinal range in the sage- 

 brush, ponderosa pine, aspen, and spruce belts. It occurs in a wide 

 variety of relatively dry soils, ranging in texture from heavy clays 

 to rocky gravels, and also abounds in grass, weed, brush, woodland, 

 and timber types. However, this plant does not favor dense shade, 

 and in the woodland and timber types ordinarily occurs in openings, 

 where it is usually exposed to direct sunlight for a few hours 

 daily. 



Showy goldeneye is common over much of its range and is often lo- 

 cally abundant. Apparently it is an aggressive species, which tends 

 to increase, at least locally, on heavily grazed ranges by supplanting 

 better forage plants. Flowers are produced from July to Septem- 

 ber ; during the late summer and early fall the profuse flower heads 

 of this species are a dominant feature of the floral landscape. 



Considerable discrepancy exists in reports as to the palatability of 

 showy goldeneye, and the species merits closer observation on range 

 where it is common. As a rule, it is worthless or at best poor on 

 cattle range, use generally being confined to picking off a few 

 heads. Its value seems to be greatest on browse and grass areas of 

 sheep range where succulent weed feed is scarce, particularly in 

 seasons of drought ; in such places and times, its palatability may be 

 rated as fairly good or occasionally even good. In some localities, 

 especially on certain overgrazed cattle ranges of northwestern Colo- 

 rado, it verges on a pest species, having locally usurped the "place 

 in the sun" formerly enjoyed by its forage betters, decimated by 

 abuse, with marked deterioration of range carrying capacity. 



In California the typical form of the species is replaced by a 

 variety, Nevada goldeneye (V. multiflo'ra iievuden'sis, syns. Gym- 

 nolo'mia linea'ris, G. nevaden'sis) , which grows in California, Ne- 

 vada, and southwestern Utah, principally at the lower elevations. 

 It is very similar to showy goldeneye except that the leaves are nar- 

 rower, linear-lance-shaped, and have rolled-back (re volute) mar- 

 gins. It is not especially abundant, is of low palatability, and rela- 

 tively unimportant as a range plant. 



