Perennial 6–60 cm. Leaves oblanceolate, 5–35 cm long, entire, dentate, or with pinnate, linear lobes. Herbage glabrous to sparsely villous. Involucre 1–3 cm high; phyllaries lanceolate, in 2 to 4 indistinct series, green or purple-spotted, glabrate to villous. Rays orange to pink; ligules 6–12 mm long. Pappus 6–15 mm long. Achene body 5–9 mm long; beak 3–7 mm long (
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
Montana has two varieties:
aurantiaca and
carneaAgoseris species in Montana share the following characteristics:
*Solitary flowerhead composed only of ray (ligulate) flowers; each ray tipped with 5 lobes.
*Single, long flowering stem (peduncle) that has milky sap;
*Leaves are only basal; each leaf with a simple blade that tapering to the stem (petiole).
Orange Agoseris -
Agoseris aurantiaca*Life Span: Perennial
*Flowers (Corollas): Orange to pink, often drying light purple
*Leaf Blades: Entire, dentate, or with shallow lobes.
Annual Agoseris -
Agoseris heterophylla*Life Span: Annual
*Flowers (Corollas): Yellow
*Leaf Blades: Not lobed; entire to slightly dentate.
Steppe Agoseris -
Agoseris parviflora*Life Span: Perennial
*Flowers (Corollas): Yellow
*Leaf Blades: Lobes divided half-way to the midvein.
*Involucral Bracts: Glabrous or tomentose.
*Achene Beak: Less than 6 mm long.
Large-flower Agoseris -
Agoseris grandiflora*Life Span: Perennial
*Flowers (Corollas): Yellow
*Leaf Blades: Lobes divided half-way to the midvein.
*Involucral Bracts: Villous on the margins.
*Achene Beak: At least 8 mm long.
Pale Agoseris -
Agoseris glauca*Life Span: Perennial
*Flowers (Corollas): Yellow
*Leaf Blades: Entire or with shallow lobes that are less than half-way to the midvein.
POLLINATORSThe following animal species have been reported as pollinators of this plant species or genus where their geographic ranges overlap:
Bombus bifarius and
Bombus insularis (Wilson et al. 2010).
