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Rush Skeleton-plant - Lygodesmia juncea

Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S5
C-value: 4


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

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General Description
Rhizomatous perennial. Stems erect, branched, 15–50 cm. Herbage glabrous. Leaves cauline, alternate, linear, 5–30 mm long; the upper reduced to scales. Heads ligulate, solitary on branch tips; involucre obconic, 9–16 mm high; phyllaries in 2 series; outer minute; inner ca. 5, linear, glabrous, scarious-margined; receptacle flat, naked. Ray flowers perfect, ca. 5; ligules 9–12 mm long, pinkish. Pappus off-white, capillary bristles. Achenes fusiform, 6–10 mm long, 5-ribbed, glabrous (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Diagnostic Characteristics
These plants can be confused by their common name, scientific name, and/or initial appearance because at some point they can exhibit green or brown stems that are leafless or inconspicuously leafy.
Here is how to differentiate them:

Rush Skeleton-plant - Lygodesmia juncea, native:
* In Aster Family; pinkish flowerheads occur at the tips of stems. About 5 florets per flowerhead.
* Achenes are not beaked, but sometimes are fusiform.
* Plants lack milky sap.
* Plants are without hairs (glabrous).
* Plants are rhizomatous perennial forbs.

Rush skeletonweed - Chondrilla juncea, exotic and Noxious:
* In Aster Family; yellow flowerheads occur at the tips of stems or in the axils of leaves. About 7-15 florets per flowerhead.
* Achenes (fruits) have a beak of 5-6mm long.
* Stems, leaves, and inflorescence have milky sap.
* Plants have hairs being hirsute to glabrate. On the lower 10-15 cm (4-6 inches) of the stem the hairs point downward while the upper stem is lacks hairs or has a few rigid hairs.
* Plants are taprooted perennial forbs.

Spiny Skeletonweed - Pleiacanthus spinosus, native, SOC:
* In Aster Family; pinkish flowerheads occur solitary on upper branches. About 3 florets per flowerhead.
* Achenes are not beaked, but are tubular.
* Plants have a milky sap.
* Plants have hairs, being glabrate to weakly tomentose.
* Plants are taprooted with a brown-woolly branched crown.
* Stems are spine-tipped and branched.

Tall Tumble-mustard - Sisymbrium altissimum, exotic:
* In Mustard Family; flowers with 4 (pale) yellow petals and 4 green to yellowish sepals.
* Stems are leafy with large pinnately lobed leaves.
* In fruit or during the winter stems appear leafless. Plants branch, becoming round.
* Fruit is a long and narrow silique that is equal in width to its stem (pedicel).

Species Range
Montana Range Range Descriptions

Native
 


Range Comments
BC to MB south to AZ, NM, TX, IN and MI (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 491

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

 

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)



Habitat
Grasslands, sagebrush steppe, open forest, roadsides; plains, valleys (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

References
  • Literature Cited AboveLegend:   View Online Publication
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • Adhikari, S. 2018. Impacts of dryland farming systems on biodiversity, plant-insect interactions, and ecosystem services. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 207 p.
    • Anderson, N.L. 1951. Field studies on the biology of range grasshoppers of southeastern Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 96 p.
    • Boggs, K. W. 1984. Succession in riparian communities of the lower Yellowstone River, Montana. M.S. Thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman, 107 pp.
    • Chadde, S.W. 1985. Initial recovery patterns of southwestern Montana foothill range. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 103 p.
    • DuBois, K.L. 1979. An inventory of the avifauna in the Long Pines of Southeastern Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 113 p.
    • Fritzen, D.E. 1995. Ecology and behavior of Mule Deer on the Rosebud Coal Mine, Montana. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 143 p.
    • Gobeille, J.E. 1992. The effect of fire on Merriams turkey brood habitat in southeastern Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 61 p.
    • Harvey, S.J. 1990. Responses of steppe plants to gradients of water soil texture and disturbance in Montana, U.S.A. Ph.D. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 34 p.
    • Jones, W. W. 1901. Preliminary flora of Gallatin County. M.S. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State College. 78 pp.
    • King, L.A. 1980. Effects of topsoiling and other reclamation practices on nonseeded species establishment on surface mined land at Colstrip, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 129 p.
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
    • Meier, G.A. 1997. The colonization of Montana roadsides by native and exotic plants. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 45 p.
    • Mussgnug, G.L. 1972. The structure and performance of an adult population of Aulocara elliotti (Thomas) (Orthoptera, Acrididae) near Billings, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 97 p.
    • Quire, R.L. 2013. The sagebrush steppe of Montana and southeastern Idaho shows evidence of high native plant diversity, stability, and resistance to the detrimental effects of nonnative plant species. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 124 p.
    • Rennick, R.B. 1981. Effects of prescribed burning on mixed prairie vegetation in southeastern Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 144 p.
    • Rundquist, V.M. 1973. Avian ecology on stock ponds in two vegetational types in north-central Montana. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 112 p.
    • Sater, S. 2022. The insects of Sevenmile Creek, a pictorial guide to their diversity and ecology. Undergraduate Thesis. Helena, MT: Carroll College. 242 p.
    • Seipel, T., L.J. Rew, K.T. Taylor, B.D. Maxwell, and E.A. Lehnhoff. 2018. Applied Vegetation Science 21:385-394.
    • Seipel, T.F. 2006. Plant species diversity in the sagebrush steppe of Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 87 p.
    • Skilbred, Chester L. 1979. Plant succession on five naturally revegetated strip-mined deposits at Colstrip, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 128 pp.
    • Skinner, K.F. 1995. Plant and grasshopper community composition: indicators & interactions across three spatial scales. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 144 p.
    • Wood, A.K. 1987. Ecology of a prairie mule deer population. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 205 p.
  • Web Search Engines for Articles on "Rush Skeleton-plant"
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Citation for data on this website:
Rush Skeleton-plant — Lygodesmia juncea.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from