SUNFLOWER FAMILY. 413 



maturity (after the acholics have spread) 1% to 1% in. broad; achencs atten- 

 uate above into a beak, 5 lines long; pappus silvery white, 6 to 7 lines long, 

 the very delicate awn about % the length of the deeply notched paleae. — 

 (Microseris linearifolia Grav.) 



Open ground, low hills or sometimes on higher slopes, throughout California. 

 Apr.-May. 



2. U. lindleyi (DC.) Nutt. Stout, 10 to 14 in. high, the peduncle scarcely 

 thickened under the head; leaves as in the preceding, but rather broader; 

 achenes brownish, 5 lines long, slightly narrowed toward the summit; pappus 

 dull brown or sordid, 6 to 7 lines long, the awn from a shallow notch and 

 very little shorter than the paleae. — (Microseris lindleyi DC.) 



Oakland and San Mateo Co., southward to Southern California. Var. CLEVE- 

 LAND!! Jepson'. Scurfy-puberulent ; achenes not at all attenuate ; awn less than 

 half as long as the paleae. — Plains east of Mt. Diablo. 



3. U. macrochaetus (Gray) Greene. One to 2 ft. high; involucre in an- 

 thesis narrow, 8 to 10 lines high; achenes 3 to 4 lines long, decidedly attenuate 

 at summit ; paleae short, only % of the length of the awn, cleft to the middle. — 

 (Microseris macrochaeta Gray.) 



San Francisco, Bigelow (ace. to Gray), to San Diego. Var. KELLOGGII 

 Jepson. Achenes attenuate at each end and the paleae with a shallow notch. — 

 San Bruno Hills and Marin Co. 



9. MICROSERIS Don. 



Acaulescent annuals, glabrous or only slightly puberulent. Leaves in a radi- 

 cal tuft, pinnatifid with mostly linear and often falcate lobes, or entire. 

 Peduncles scape-like, leafless, one-headed. Heads in anthesis narrowly oblong 

 to ovoid or subglobose, nodding in the bud, mostly erect in fruit. Ligules short. 

 Achenes slender-fusiform or cylindric, ribbed, mostly truncate. Pappus-paleac 

 5, mostly short, abruptly or gradually passing into the scabrous awn. (Greek 

 micros, small, and seris, lettuce.) 



Achenes attenuate toward the apex, the upper half not filled by the seed 



1. M. attenuata. 

 Achenes tapering slightly from base to summit or even almost turbinate, the whole cell 

 filled by the seed. 



Paleae reduced to a triangular base or almost none, the awns fragile and deciduous 



2. M. aphaiitocarpha. 

 Paleae of the pappus conspicuous, the awns less brittle and more persistent. 



Heads less than l / 2 in. high; achenes little more than 1 line long 3. M. clcgans. 



Heads more than Vi in. high. 



Heads hemispherical in mature fruit, or nearly so; paleae and awns rather sharply 

 defined, the palea y 2 to l /z the length of the awn. 

 Achenes obviously contracted under the summit, the outermost commonly white- 



villous 4. M. douglasii. 



Achenes not contracted under the truncate summit, the outermost sometimes 



villous 5. M. bigelovii. 



Heads turbinate in mature fruit; paleae narrowly lanceolate, tapering into and longer 

 ihan the awn 6. M. acuminata. 



1. M. attenuata Greene. Scapes rather few, suberect, 11 to 15 in. high; 

 - in the radical cluster few, mostly pinnately parted into narrow linear 



lobes; involucre y% in. high, barely calyculate at base; pappus 3 to 3% lines 

 .long, equaling or a trifle longer than the achenes; paleae oblong or ovate, 

 1 L . to '.; the length of the awn, externally either lightly or conspicuously villous. 

 Solano Co. to Alameda Co. Apr.-May. 



2. M. aphantocarpha Gray. Scapes decumbent at base or wholly erect, 10 

 to 16 in. high; leaves subentire or pinnatifid; involucre merely calyculate; 



