Wedelia acapulcensis Kunth var. hispida (Kunth) Strother, orange zeymenia, hairy wedelia, orange daisy. Subshrub, many–stemmed at base, branches ascending with erect inflorescences, in range to 75 cm tall; gynomonoecious; shoots with only cauline leaves, scabrous and hispid having hairs to 1 mm long with many minute projections along hair axis.
Stems initially ± cylindric aging with somewhat ridged periderm, to 3 mm diameter (vigorous shoots) or 5 mm diameter (old stems at ground level), having a pair of ledges across each node, scabrous and hispid aging glabrescent, periderm rough and brown.
Leaves opposite decussate, simple and sessile to subsessile with pair fused across node, without stipules; petiole to 2 mm long = flared base; blade lanceolate or ovate to trowel–shaped or linear–lanceolate, (25—)40—70 × 6.5—32 mm, tapered at base (not truncate), ± low–toothed on margins or with a pair of weakly expressed lobes below midpoint (large blades), acuminate to acute at tip, pinnately veined with 1 vein at base and 3–veined somewhat above base with midrib raised on lower surface.
Inflorescence head, solitary, terminal on long peduncle, head radiate, ca. 20 mm across, of 9—12 pistillate ray flowers and in range mostly < 50 bisexual disc flowers, bracteate, scabrous and hispid; bracts subtending peduncle (1—)2, leaflike, linear–lanceolate; peduncle slender and shallowly 8–ridged, in range 120—220 mm long, conspicuously scabrous and short–hispid with some glandular hairs (lacking heads), rarely with a linear, 3–veined bract at top below involucre; involucre with ca. 15 appressed phyllaries in 4 series free to base, bell–shaped, ± 7 mm diameter, outer 8 phyllaries herbaceous and green or green with purple above midpoint, ovate, 8—9 × 2.5—4 mm, densely stiff–hairy on outer (lower) surface, inner surface ca. 9–veined at base glabrous to midblade and hairy above midblade including brown fine woolly hairs, inner phyllaries scarious with or without herbaceous tissue and stiff hairs on outer surface above midblade, oblong to narrowly obovate, 7—8 × 2—2.5 mm, inner surface with abundant brown fine woolly hairs above midblade, the innermost phyllaries subtending ray flowers resembling bractlets (paleae); receptacle convex to low–domed, having bractlets (paleae) subtending disc flowers, paleae strongly but subequally folded (keeled) or rounded at back (the outermost series), scarious, 5—7 mm long and 1 mm wide (folded), mostly colorless with purple midstripe to tip parallel with midstripe but not on keel, jagged on margins approaching tip, keel minutely scabrous, receptacle with purple spot beneath each ovary.
Ray flower bilateral, ca. 4 mm across; calyx (pappus) crownlike cup (boss) with 0—3 awns, the cup ± 0.5 mm long, colorless, jagged and somewhat 3–lobed on upper margin each lobe potentially with awn, the awn straight, to 3 mm long; corolla unlobed; tube linear linear and flattened front–to–back, 1.5—3.2 mm, orangish white or yellowish white; limb elliptic, ca. 8 × 3.5—4.5 mm, with nipplelike tip or minutely notched, with 2 lengthwise folds, upper surface minutely papillate, lower surface with some minute hairs along principal veins; stamens absent; pistil 1; ovary inferior, 3–sided flat on back, ± 2 mm long, white or with a few purple stripes on inner side, with a narrow neck on truncate top and with rounded corners, short–ciliate on outer edges and glabrous on outer and inner faces, 1–chambered with 1 ovule; nectary disc inside crown next to base of style but weakly defined; style exserted, 5—5.5 mm long, white at base and exserted portion yellow–orange, 2–branched, the stigmatic branches fully exserted, 1.5—2 mm long.
Disc flower radial, 1 mm across; calyx (pappus) crownlike cup (boss) with 0—3 awns, the cup ± 0.5 mm long, colorless, jagged and somewhat 3–lobed on upper margin each lobe potentially with awn, the awn straight, to 3 mm long; corolla 5–lobed, ca. 5 mm long; tube 5–sided, 1 × 0.3 mm, white, glabrous; throat long bell–shaped, 3 × 0.8 mm, yellow–orange; triangular, 0.8 mm long, purple and brown; stamens 5, fused to top of corolla tube; filaments 1 mm long, orangish; anthers fused into cylinder surrounding style, 3 mm long including triangular appendages 0.35—0.4 mm long, sacs purple, the appendages exserted and yellow–orange, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen yellow–orange; pistil 1; ovary inferior, ± 4–sided compressed side–to–side with longer axis radial and cupped by folded palea, ± 1.5 × 0.5—0.6 × 0.4 mm, white lacking purple stripes, glabrous at base but mostly covered with short hairs, the hairs sometimes purplish, 1–chambered with 1 ovule, above ovary body with short neck and winglike lobes, above neck having crownlike structure (boss of calyx) ca. 0.5 mm long jagged on top mostly with short awns, in disc flowers neck and crown colorless; nectary disc inside crown next to base of style but weakly defined; style exserted, ca. 7.5 mm long, 2–branched, the branches mostly exserted, ascending later spreading (never recurved), 1.5—2 mm long, conspicuously short–hairy.
Fruits cypselae (achenes), dimorphic; of ray flower tangentially oriented, shield–shaped to inversely deltate with conspicuous wing along 3 sides, compressed front–to–back, 4—4.5 × 3—4 mm, seed body brown with black blotches (including wings), outer side rounded, inner side with midridge and 2 faces, edges short–ciliate, faces glabrous or sparsely short–strigose, lateral wings wavy, to 1 mm wide, wing on upper side interrupted with central neck, above neck having crownlike structure (boss of calyx) 1 mm long jagged on top mostly with short awns to 3 mm long; of disc flowers radially oriented, narrowly heart–shaped in outline 4–sided, mostly lacking lateral wings, 4—4.5 × 1.2—2.4 mm, sides short–strigose with upward–pointing hairs, top wing cordate with central neck, above neck having crownlike structure (boss of calyx) ca. 0.5 mm long jagged on top mostly with short awns to 3 mm long.
A. C. Gibson