Engelmannia peristenia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Engelmannia peristenia |
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Asteroideae
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Engelmannia
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| Species: |
E. peristenia
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| Engelmannia peristenia (Raf.) Goodman & C.A.Lawson 1992
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The Engelmannia peristenia, often called the Engelmann daisy or cutleaf daisy, is a beautiful flowering plant found in North America. It belongs to the large and famous daisy family, which includes many flowers you might recognize!
This plant is native to the south-central United States. You can mostly find it growing in states like Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and southeastern Colorado. Sometimes, you might also spot smaller groups of these daisies in places like Arizona, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
What is the Engelmann Daisy?
The Engelmann daisy is a special type of plant known as a perennial herb. This means it lives for more than two years, often coming back year after year from the same root system. It's not a tree or a bush, but a softer, green plant.
What Does It Look Like?
This plant can grow quite tall, reaching up to 100 centimeters (about 40 inches). That's almost as tall as a typical 10-year-old! The Engelmann daisy has many branches, giving it a bushy look.
Its leaves are interesting too. The leaves at the very bottom of the plant can be quite long, up to 30 centimeters (about 1 foot). As you look higher up the stem, the leaves gradually get smaller. This change in leaf size helps the plant get sunlight efficiently.
Its Unique Flowers
The Engelmann daisy produces many small flower heads. Each of these "flower heads" is actually a cluster of many tiny flowers working together. It's like a mini bouquet!
Each flower head usually has about 8 "ray florets." These are the petal-like parts that stick out from the center, making the daisy look like it has petals. In the very middle of the flower head, you'll find 40 to 50 "disc florets." These are the tiny, tightly packed flowers that form the center of the daisy. Together, these two types of florets create the classic daisy shape we all know and love.
