Collegeflower facts for kids

Collegeflower (scientific name: Hymenopappus flavescens) is a type of flowering plant. It belongs to the daisy family. You can find it growing in North America.

Where Collegeflower Grows

Collegeflower grows in the southwestern and south-central parts of the United States. This includes states like Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. It also grows in northern Mexico, specifically in the state of Chihuahua.

What Collegeflower Looks Like

The collegeflower is a plant that lives for two years. This means it's a biennial herb. It can grow quite tall, up to 90 centimeters (about 3 feet).

Each stem of the plant can have many flower heads. You might see anywhere from 15 to 100 flower heads on one stem! Each flower head has 20 to 40 small yellow flowers. These are called 'disc flowers'. Unlike some daisies, collegeflower does not have the petal-like 'ray flowers' that stick out.

Different Kinds of Collegeflower

Within the collegeflower species, there are slightly different types called varieties. These varieties have small differences, often based on where they grow. Here are two main varieties:

• Hymenopappus flavescens var. canotomentosus - This variety is found in New Mexico, Texas, and Chihuahua, Mexico.
• Hymenopappus flavescens var. flavescens - This variety grows in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.