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• Heliomeris multiflora

Heliomeris multiflora — showy false goldeneye

Facts

Native to the Mexico and the western United States, showy false goldeneye rarely shows up in New England, having been collected from the waste area of a nineteen century wool carding factory in Massachusetts, probably transported there in sheep's wool.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats)

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Bract cycle number

  • there are three or more cycles of bracts
  • there are two main cycles of bracts

  Bract inner side hairs

  the bracts are hairy on their inner surfaces

  Bract outer side hair type

  the bracts are hairy, with simple hairs on their outer surface

  Bract outer side hairs

  the bracts are hairy on their outer surfaces

  Bract shape

  the main bracts are linear (long and very narrow)

  Bract spines

  the bracts have no spines

  Bracts

  the bracts in separate cycles are similar or gradually changing from the outer to inner cycles

  Disk flower color

  yellow

  Disk flower number

  21-50

  Disk flower reproductive parts

  the disk flower has both pollen- and seed-producing parts

  Flower head number

  each flowering stem has four or more flower heads on it

  Flower head outer flowers

  at the outer edge of the flower head, each flower has a single enlarged lobe or strap

  Flower head platform

  the base has papery scales on it

  Flower head position

  • each of the flower heads is separate on its own peduncle (stalk), not clustered in groups
  • some or all the flower heads are grouped in clusters of two or more

  Flower head profile

  the disk is conical across the top

  Flower head shape

  the flower head is hemispherical (like the bottom half of a sphere)

  Flower type in flower heads

  the flower head has tubular disk flowers in the center and ray flowers, these often strap-shaped, around the periphery

  Inflorescence branching (Solidago)

  NA

  Inflorescence shape

  • NA
  • the inflorescence is flat-topped in profile

  Ovary beak

  there is no beak on the ovary

  Ovary cross-section

  • the ovary is compressed (flattened)
  • the ovary is roughly square or with four corners

  Ovary hair type

  the ovary has no hairs on it

  Ovary hairs

  the ovary has no hairs on it

  Ovary profile

  in profile, the ovary is lance-shaped, but widest above the middle

  Peduncle length

  10–150 mm

  Ray flower color

  yellow

  Ray flower reproductive parts

  there are neither carpels nor stamens in the ray flowers

  Ray flowers

  • 11-15
  • 6-10

  Ray length

  7–20 mm

  Reproductive system

  some of the flowers on the plant have only carpels or stamens, while others have both carpels and stamens

  Scale tip

  • the scales are acuminate (taper to a very narrow point) or aristate (tipped with a slender bristle)
  • the scales are acute (sharply pointed) at the top

  Smaller bracts at base of bracts

  there is a cycle of much smaller bracts outside the cycle of larger and longer bracts

  Style branch number

  the style has two branches

  Style branches

  NA

  Width of flower head base

  6–14 mm

• Fruits or seeds

  Number of pappus parts

  NA

  Ovary length in developed fruit

  1.2–3 mm

  Seed hair tuft bases

  NA

  Seed hair tuft color

  NA

  Seed hair tuft details

  NA

  Seed hair tuft tips

  NA

  Seed hairs uniform

  NA

  Seed tuft type

  NA

  Top of disk flower ovary

  NA

  Tuft or plume on fruit

  NA

• Glands or sap

  Leaf blade glands

  the leaf blades have glandular (translucent) dots or scales

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant has one or more free-standing stems

  Plant lifespan

  the plant is perennial, it shows evidence of previous year's leaves, stems or stem bases

  Spines on plant

  the plant has no spines

  Underground organs

  the plant has a caudex (the root mass is firm and hardened at the top)

• Leaves

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy

  Leaf arrangement

  opposite: there are two leaves per node along the stem

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf has no petiole

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow

  Leaf blade bloom

  the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom

  Leaf blade edges

  the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes

  Leaf blade flatness

  the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges

  Leaf blade hairs

  the leaf blade has simple hairs with no glands, and not tangled or wooly

  Leaf blade length

  10–90 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is linear (very narrow with more or less parallel sides)
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)

  Leaf blade tip

  the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)

  Leaf blade veins

  • the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base towards the tip
  • the leaf blade has three main veins running from the base towards the tip

  Leaf blade width

  2–20 mm

  Leaf disposition

  the leaves are nearly similar in size, prominence of teeth, and length of stalks throughout the stem

  Leaf spines

  there are no spines on the leaf edges

  Leaf stalk

  the leaves have no leaf stalks, but attach directly to the stem

  Leaf stalk length

  0 mm

  Leaf type

  leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

  Specific leaf type

  the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  Massachusetts

  Specific habitat

  man-made or disturbed habitats

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem cross-section

  the flowering stem is circular, or with lots of small angles

  Leaves on stem

  there is at least one full leaf above the base of the flowering stem

  Stem internode hair direction

  the hairs are pressed flat against the plant, pointing either towards the plant's tip or towards it's base

  Stem internode hair type

  the hairs on the stem are plain, without glands or branches, and not tangled

  Stem internode hairs

  • the stem has hairs between the nodes
  • the stem has no hairs between the nodes

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae