Viguiera dentata (Cav.) Spreng., plateau goldeneye, sunflower goldeneye. Perennial herb, several–stemmed at base, eventually forming ascending lateral branches, mostly to 200 cm tall; gynomonoecious; shoots with only cauline leaves, somewhat scabrous and stiff–hairy, hairs strigose to strongly arched, < 0.5—1 mm long with conspicuous swollen bases (pustulate), not aromatic when crushed.
Stems ridged, with 3 ridges descending from each leaf, when young appearing grayish from strigose hairs.
Leaves opposite decussate (lower plant) and helically alternate (upper canopy and inflorescences), simple, petiolate having opposite leaves connected with ledges across node, without stipules; petiole crescent–shaped and flared at base to channeled above, 4—15+ mm long; blade ovate to somewhat rhombic or broadly lanceolate, < 40—80+ × < 25—50+ mm, truncate at base but narrowly tapered at petiole, serrate (short–serrate) on margins, acute to acuminate at tip, commonly 3–veined near base with principal veins slightly sunken on upper surface and raised on lower surface, with hairs upward–arching to appressed, mostly along veins and longer along principal veins.
Inflorescence heads, in open, cymelike arrays in range often with 2 heads, terminal on each shoot and axillary, head radiate, 30—40 mm across, with 10—14 ray flowers and many disc flowers, bracteate, stiff–hairy with upward–pointing hairs; bract subtending peduncle leaflike and petiolate, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate and < foliage leaf, < 10 mm wide; peduncle ridged, to 45 mm long, with arched–ascending and short–strigose hairs; bract along peduncle leaflike but smaller = bract subtending future peduncle; involucre hemispheric, 7—12 mm wide, phyllaries 15—20 in several series, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 5.5—7 × 1.6—2 mm, outer phyllaries somewhat abruptly narrowed above midpoint, basal portion with 3 raised veins, tough, and persistent (becoming indurate), upper portion herbaceous, ascending later spreading, entire, acuminate at tip, short–hairy, inner phyllaries subtending ray flowers, with shorter herbaceous portion and less hairy on exposed surface; receptacle flat to slightly convex, with conspicuous bractlets (paleae) subtending disc flowers, each palea folded and enclosing ovary, membranous, obovate but strongly keeled, ca. 5.5 × 2.5 mm + hard tip 0.5 mm long, colorless at base to yellowish above midpoint with 9—11 parallel veins converging at yellow tip. margins sometimes sparsely short–ciliate.
Ray flower sterile, bilateral, 6—8 mm across; calyx (pappus) absent; corolla typically notched, 14—16 mm long, bright yellow; tube short–cylindric, ca. 1 mm long, short–hairy; limb elliptic, 13—15 mm long, parallel–veined having veins sunken on upper surface and raised and orangish on lower surface; stamens absent; pistil vestigial, ± linear and compressed, ca. 2.5 × 0.4 mm, white, glabrate.
Disc flower bisexual, radial, ca. 2 mm across; calyx (pappus) dimorphic, of 2—3 bristle–tipped scales and 2—5 shorter scales, bristle–tipped scales 1.8—2.9 mm long with cupped and jagged basal portion ca. 1 × 0.4—0.6 mm, jagged bristleless scales 0.5—0.7 mm long, colorless or teeth and bristles purple and sometimes scales purple–streaked, bristle with short, ascending hairs (antrorse); corolla (4—)5–lobed, ca. 4 mm long; tube chimney–shaped with thick basal rim, pale green, with scattered spreading short hairs; throat abruptly expanded at base, basal portion to midpoint, bell–shaped and 4—5–lobed, 1.2—1.3 mm diameter, green, with short ascending hairs, upper portion ± cylindric and 4—5–ribbed, ca. 0.7 mm diameter, green at base to yellowish at orifice, short–hairy along ribs; lobes 4—5, spreading to somewhat recurved, triangular–ovate, ± 1 mm long, yellow, short–strigose on lower (outer) surface; stamens (4—)5, fused to corolla at base of throat; filaments 1.5—1.8 mm long, pale yellow, conspicuously pubescent; anthers fused into cylinder surrounding style, exserted, basifixed, dithecal, ca. 2.5 mm long, reddish brown with yellow–orange deltate appendages 0.4 mm long at top, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen golden yellow; pistil 1; ovary inferior, wedge–shaped, strongly compressed, and 3–sided, ca. 3 × 1 mm, whitish, with ascending short hairs, 1–chambered with 1 ovule; style included (never exposed), ca. 5 mm long, 2–branched, bulbous and white at base changing to golden yellow above midpoint, the branches ascending within column of anthers, 1 mm long, conspicuously papillate.
Fruits cypselae (disc flowers), inversely triangular in outline (obpyramidal) and compressed front–to–back, 2.3—2.9 × 1.1—1.4 mm, purple–black mottled brown (blistered patches), ridged on lateral edges with raised backbone on 1 or both faces, with asymmetric, hard callus at base, truncate at tip, in range conspicuously strigose and short–strigose on faces; pappus bristle–tipped scales 1.8—2.9 mm long and shorter bristlelesss scales easily dislodged.
A. C. Gibson