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Broom Snakeweed
Gutierrezia sarothrae (Pursh) Britt. & Rusby
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)
▲▼ pre-flowering plants
▲▼ pre-flowering plants
▲▼pre-flowering plants in range area
▲▼ mature, flowering plants
▲▼ flowers/inflorescences
▲▼ flowers/inflorescences
▲▼post-flowering plants in range area
Gutierrezia sarothrae
(Pursh) Britt. & Rusby, Broom Snakeweed:
(Bayer
Code:
GUESA; US Code GUSA2)
·
U.S. native simple perennial with stout rootstock and sometimes woody stem
base that grows 6-24 inches tall and equally wide or wider with much
branching; branches are thin, green to brown, usually hairless, but can have
a few stiff hairs
·
Leaves are linear, often folded in half length-wise, with smooth margins,
and glandular dots that make the leaves feel sticky
·
Head inflorescences are in clusters at tips of stems; individual heads are
about 1/8 to ¼ inch diameter, with 3-8 yellow ray florets (“petals”) and 2-6
yellow disk florets; flowers mid-summer through autumn
·
Bracts below the inflorescence are tan with glossy green tips, linear-lanceolate
in overlapping rows
·
Found in dry prairies, rangeland in western U.S.
·
Toxic if grazed, but usually avoided, which is why it can develop high
population numbers in overgrazed rangeland/pastures
·
Similar-looking
common broomweed, prairie broomweed (Amphiachyris
dracunculoides) is an annual weed, and usually
has a single upright stem holding the much-branched upper portion
of the plant, so that it looks tree-like; the leaves and flowers of both
plants are similar
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