Tetraneuris acaulis is a North American species of flowering plants in the sunflower family. Common names include angelita daisy, stemless four-nerve daisy, stemless hymenoxys, butte marigold, and stemless rubberweed.
Description
Tetraneuris acaulis is a highly variable perennial herb which may be quite tiny to over 60 centimeters (2 feet) in height. The erect flowering stems are surrounded by basal leaves. The leaves are up to long, hairy or hairless, and glandular or without glands. In outline the leaves of T. acaulis vary from spoon shaped, wider at end and narrow at the base (spatulate), still wider near the end but narrower overall and much longer and wide (oblanceolate), to almost narrow like grass, though still slightly widened near the end (linear-oblanceolate).
It flowers from June to September. There may be few or many flower heads borne singly on hairy stalks. The base of each flower head is up to wide. The head contains 8 to 21 yellow ray florets each up to long. At the center are many yellow disc florets, sometimes 200 or more. The fruits are dry achenes only a few millimeters long. Some plants may have no ray florets.
Varieties
It is generally accepted that there are four varieties of this species: Tetraneuris acaulis var. acaulis: stemless four-nerve daisy – Alberta, Saskatchewan, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, Chihuahua, Zacatecas Tetraneuris acaulis var. arizonica: Arizona four-nerve daisy – Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah Tetraneuris acaulis var. caespitosa: caespitose four-nerve daisy – Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming Tetraneuris acaulis var. epunctata: stemless four-nerve daisy – Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Coahuila Tetraneuris acaulis var. nana: stemless four-nerve daisy – Utah
Distribution and habitat
The species is widespread across much of the western and central United States, west-central Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan) and northern Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Zacatecas). It grows in a variety of habitat types in foothills and subalpine regions, and high prairie, badlands, and plains.
Uses
Tetraneuris acaulis has been used as a traditional medicinal plant. The Hopi used a poultice of the plant to relieve hip and back pain in pregnant women, and to make a stimulating drink.
References
External links
acaulis
Flora of Western Canada
Flora of Northeastern Mexico
Flora of the Western United States
Flora of the Great Plains (North America) Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Plants described in 1813 Taxa named by Edward Lee Greene Taxa named by Frederick Traugott Pursh