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• Dichotomous Key
• Asteraceae
• Asteraceae Group 6
• Rudbeckia
• Rudbeckia fulgida

Rudbeckia fulgida — showy coneflower

Facts

Showy coneflower is native to the Midwest, but not to New England, where it is a popular garden plant. It has been collected in the wild only in Connecticut.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Bract cycle number

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

  Bract keels

  the bracts do not have keels

  Bract outer side hair type

  • the bracts are hairy, with simple hairs on their outer surface
  • the bracts are not hairy on their outer surface

  Bract outer side hairs

  • the bracts are hairy on their outer surfaces
  • the bracts are not hairy on their outer surfaces

  Bract shape

  • the main bracts are elliptic (widest near the middle and tapered towards the base and tip)
  • the main bracts are lanceolate (widest above the base, then taper narrowly towards the tip)
  • the main bracts are of a different shape than the given options

  Bract texture

  the bracts have a similar texture to a leaf

  Bract tip orientation

  the tips of the bracts curve outwards and downwards from the plant

  Bract width

  2–7

  Bracts

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

  Disk flower color

  • blue to purple
  • green to brown
  • yellow

  Disk flower lobe number

  5

  Disk flower number

  more than 50

  Disk flower reproductive parts

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

  Disk flower shape

  the disk flower is tube-shaped (cylindrical), or gradually widening like a funnel

  Disk width

  5–30 mm

  Flower head number

  • each flowering stem has four or more flower heads on it
  • each flowering stem has only one to three 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 platform surface

  the scales are smooth, no visible hairs

  Flower head position

  each of the flower heads is separate on its own peduncle (stalk), not clustered in groups

  Flower head profile

  NA

  Flower head shape

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

  Flower head width

  10–18 mm

  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

  the inflorescence is flat-topped in profile

  Inflorescence stem

  • hairs are present on the stem of the inflorescence
  • the stem of the inflorescence is not hairy

  Number of bracts at flower head base

  5–20

  Ovary cross-section

  the ovary is roughly square or with four corners

  Ovary hair type

  • the ovary has hairs on it, but the hairs have no glands
  • the ovary has no hairs on it

  Ovary hairs

  • the ovary has hairs on it
  • the ovary has no hairs on it

  Ovary profile

  in profile, the ovary is another shape

  Ovary surface

  the ovary surface is textured with tiny points, bumps or wrinkles

  Ovary wing number

  0

  Peduncle hair type

  the hairs on the peduncles are simple (not branched), don’t have glands, and are not woolly

  Peduncle hairs

  the peduncles are hairy

  Ray flower color

  • orange
  • yellow

  Ray flower reproductive parts

  there are neither carpels nor stamens in the ray flowers

  Ray flowers

  • 11-15
  • 16-25

  Ray length

  15–25 mm

  Reproductive system

  all the flowers on the plant contain both carpels and stamens

  Scale tip

  • the scales are acute (sharply pointed) at the top
  • the scales are obtuse (bluntly pointed) at the top

  Style branch number

  the style has two branches

  Width of flower head base

  15–30 mm

• Fruits or seeds

  Number of pappus parts

  1

  Ovary length in developed fruit

  2.2–4 mm

  Seed hair tuft bases

  the pappus hairs are attached to one another near the base

  Seed hair tuft color

  NA

  Seed hair tuft details

  NA

  Seed hair tuft tips

  NA

  Seed hairs uniform

  NA

  Seed tuft scale number

  0

  Seed tuft type

  the pappus is made of a circle or rim of lobes or teeth on the ovary

  Tuft or plume on fruit

  there is no plume, or the plume is made up of scales, awns, a crown, or a rim

• Glands or sap

  Leaf blade glands

  the leaf blades have no glandular (translucent) dots or scales

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant has one or more free-standing stems

  Horizontal rooting stem

  there are stolons on some plants

  Plant lifespan

  • the plant is biennial, it appears as either first year (non-reproductive) plants or second year plants with flowers or fruit
  • 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 rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)

• Leaves

  Final leaf segment length (compound lvs only)

  0 mm

  Final leaf segment width (compound lvs only)

  0 mm

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  • the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
  • the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy

  Leaf arrangement

  • alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
  • the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant (basal)

  Leaf blade base

  • the leaf has a distinct petiole
  • 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
  • the base of the leaf blade is rounded
  • the base of the leaf is cordate (heart-shaped) or sagittate (arrow-shaped)

  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
  • the edge of the leaf blade has teeth

  Leaf blade hairs

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

  Leaf blade length

  20–300 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is spatulate (spoon-shaped; narrow near the base, then suddenly widening to a rounded tip)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  there is no noticeable color variation on the upper surface of the leaf

  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

  Leaf blade width

  20–65 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 leaf stalks
  • the leaves have no leaf stalks, but attach directly to the stem

  Leaf type

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

  Leaflet number

  0

  Specific leaf type

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

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  Connecticut

  Specific habitat

  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields

• 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 point mostly upwards to outwards

  Stem internode hair type

  • the hairs on the stem are plain, without glands or branches, and not tangled
  • the stem has no hairs between the nodes

  Stem internode hairs

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

  Stem wings

  the stem does not have wings on it

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae