Ertter's ragwort facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ertter's ragwort |
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Senecio ertterae is a special kind of flowering plant, often called Ertter's ragwort. It belongs to the aster family, which includes many familiar flowers like sunflowers and daisies! This plant is unique because it grows only in Oregon in the United States. When a plant or animal is found in just one specific place, it's called endemic.
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Meet Ertter's Ragwort!
What Does It Look Like?
Ertter's ragwort is an annual herb, which means it grows from a seed, flowers, produces new seeds, and then dies all within one year. It usually grows to be about 20 to 50 centimeters tall, but some can reach over 60 centimeters! That's like a small ruler up to a bit taller than a bowling pin.
Its leaves and stems are a little bit succulent, meaning they are slightly thick and can store some water. The leaves are shaped like a spear or a spatula and grow on special stalks called petioles. These petioles have small "wings" on them.
Its Pretty Flowers
The plant's flowers grow in a group called an inflorescence. This group looks like a cyme, which is a type of flower cluster where the oldest flower is in the center. Each group has several flower heads. The small, yellow petals, called ray florets, are about half a centimeter long. You can usually see Ertter's ragwort blooming from July all the way through October.
Where Does It Grow?
Ertter's ragwort calls Leslie Gulch in eastern Oregon its home. This area is in Malheur County. It's quite picky about where it grows! You'll only find it in soils made from rhyolite and tuff. These are types of volcanic rock.
The land where it lives can be a bit rough. It often experiences natural events like floods and erosion. Even with these challenges, other plants manage to grow there too. Some of its neighbors include Pseudoroegneria spicata (bluebunch wheatgrass), Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass), Mimulus cusickii (Cusick's monkeyflower), Eriogonum vimineum (broom buckwheat), and Phacelia hastata (silverleaf phacelia).
How It Survives
Since Ertter's ragwort is an annual plant, its numbers can change a lot each year. It tends to be much more common and grow in larger amounts during years when there has been enough rainfall. This shows how important water is for its survival and growth!
