Low Hairy Goldenaster - Heterotheca villosa var. depressa
Other Names:
Chrysopsis depressa, Heterotheca depressa
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Native Species Global Rank :
G5T3
State Rank :
SU
(see State Rank Reason below)
C-value :
Agency Status USFWS :
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Heterotheca villosa has 5 varieties in Montana (Semple
in FNA 2006), of which 3 varieties are recognized in the
Manual of Montana Vascular Plants (Lesica et al. 2012):
Variety depressa Flora of North America *Overall: Small stature, small flower heads, and linear-oblanceolate leaves with many hairs and usually some glands.
*Stems: 5-22 cm tall and sparsely long-hirsute.
*Upper Leaves are densely strigose (84-140 hairs per square millimeter) and sparsely to moderately stipitate-glandular.
*Distribution: Yellowstone National Park and adjacent areas.
Variety ballardii Flora of North America *Overall: Plants have leaves with round bases, short hairs, and not glandular and flower heads that are large, many-rayed and often subtended by one or more large, narrow, leaf-like peduncle bracts.
*Stems: 22-50 cm tall and usually abundantly long-hirsute.
*Flower Heads: Broadly campanulate involucre. Showy ray florets, (12)17-20 in number, (8.5)9-14.5 mm in length.
*Distribution: Northeastern Great Plains.
Variety foliosa Flora of North America *Stems: 5-22 cm tall and usually abundantly long-hirsute.
*Flower Heads: Narrowly campanulate involucre. Less showy ray florets, (7)13-22 in number, 8-11.4(12.4) mm in length.
*Distribution: Mountains and western prairies.
Manual of Montana Vascular Plants *Stems and upper leaves densely hirsute
and lacking glands.
*Flower heads on very short peduncles and immediately subtended by leaves.
*Leaves are oblong to obovate in shape.
*Found mostly along streams on the plains in Montana.
Variety minor Flora of North America *Overall: Upper leaves are narrowly to broadly oblanceolate (sometimes oblong or ovate in the mountains), moderately glandular (4-20 glands per square millimeter), and hispido-strigose (10-50 hairs per square millimeter). Upper leaf bases are cuneate or attenuate, but rarely rounded.
*Stems: decumbent to ascending-erect, (9)16-33(48) cm tall. Branches usually not very long.
*Upper Leaves: Margins flat to undulate with obtuse to acute leaf tips, and sparse to moderate hairs.
*Flower Heads: Arrays are compact. Involucral bracts are moderately strigose (hairs to 1 mm long) and usually stipitate-glandular.
*Distribution: Throughout most of the range described for the species.
Manual of Montana Vascular Plants *Stems sparsely to densely stipitate-glandular, but not densely hirsute.
*Found in plains, valleys, to rarely the subalpine in Montana.
*Montana's most common form.
Variety villosa Flora of North America *Stems: 16-39 cm tall and moderately to densely strigose
and sparsely to abundantly long-hirsute.
*Upper Leaves are moderately strigose (20-60 hairs per square millimeter) and sparsely to moderately stipitate-glandular.
*Flower Heads: Usually lack bracts on the peduncles.
*Distribution: Great Plains and scattered in hills and mountains.
Manual of Montana Vascular Plants *Stems and upper leaves densely hirsute
and lacking glands.
*Flower heads on longer peduncles and subtended by small bracts.
*Leaves are more oblanceolate in shape.
*Found mostly on the plains in Montana.
Hot springs, broken travertine on old terraces, dry geyserite, gravelly stream banks, dry rock hillsides, open slopes, and dry sandy soils in montane conifer forests; 1,800-2,400 meters in elevation (Semple in FNA 2006). Where in vicinity of each other Variety depressa is typically present in vicinity of hot springs, geyser basins, and nearby river flood banks while variety minor occupies drier or non-geyserite habitats.
