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Stenotus armerioides.
Synonym:
Haplopappus armerioides. (Ring Grass Sunflower) Asteraceae (Sunflower Family) Semi-desert, foothills.
Openings, woodlands. Late spring, early summer. This is a very common and lovely plant of dry open lowlands. It is often found in sand and gravel soils, commonly on rim rock, and commonly in Pinyon/Juniper forests. Its circular growth pattern; bright green, thin, vertical leaves; dried old leaves; and abundant, bright yellow flowers make it easy to identify. As plants age, they grow outward in a ring, slowly expanding the ring over the years. It is common for the inner part of the ring to have died and then woody roots and stems are exposed. I have seen plants six feet in diameter and these must be many decades or even centuries old. Thomas Nuttall collected the first specimen of this plant for science along the headwaters of the Platte River on his trip to the Pacific with the Wyeth Expedition of 1834-1837. He named the plant Stenotus armerioides. Asa Gray renamed it Aplopappus armerioides in 1884, Kuntze renamed it Aster armerioides in 1891, and Welsh renamed it Haplopappus armerioides in 1983. "Stenos" is Greek for "narrow", referring to the leaves. "Armerioides" is Latin for "similar to Armeria", probably a genus of Dianthus flowers. |
Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state
Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Eradicated
Questionable presence