Hairy False Goldenaster

Hairy False Goldenaster

Heterotheca villosa (Pursh) Shinners

Asteraceae (Sunflower Family

▲ ▼ mature flowering plants

▲ ▼ flowers and stems

Heterotheca villosa (Pursh) Shinners, Hairy False Goldenaster: (Bayer Code: HTTVI; US Code HEVI4)

U.S. native simple perennial that grows 0.25-2.5 feet tall, with one to many upright to leaning stems growing from a taproot; stems usually unbranched until flowering commences; stems somewhat to very hairy, often with glandular hairs
Leaves alternate, oval to lanceolate, moderately to quite hairy, often with glandular hairs; lower stem leaves larger and wider than upper stem leaves; lower leaves have short petioles, while upper stem leaves do not
Head inflorescences are 0.75-1.5 inches in diameter, at stem tips, and have 10-20 ray flowers (“petals") and 20-50 yellow center disk flowers
Bracts below the inflorescence form a cylindric shape and are lanceolate to triangular, hairy, with pointed tips, and are arranged in several overlapping rows; bract tips may be purplish
Flowering is from late spring through mid-autumn
After flowering the center disk of the flower head becomes a globe of tan hairs from the pappus (parachute-like hairs) attached to the mature seed/fruit
Prefers full sun, dry soils; found in prairies, pastures, on right-of-ways, non-crop areas
This can be a very variable species, in terms of leaf shape, size, degree of hairiness, and number of glandular hairs; normally it will form a mounded plant with age, with the typical goldenaster flower type and brown powder-puff appearance of the flowering head after seed/fruit matures; the plant may or may not have a camphor-like or strong odor, depending on the number of glandular hairs