Smooth goldfields facts for kids

The Lasthenia glaberrima is a type of flowering plant in the daisy family. People often call it the smooth goldfields or rayless goldfields. This plant grows naturally in western North America. You can find it from British Columbia all the way down to California. It loves wet places like vernal pools (which are temporary ponds) and meadows that are wet in the springtime.

What Does Smooth Goldfields Look Like?

The smooth goldfields plant is an annual herb. This means it grows from a seed, flowers, produces new seeds, and then dies all within one year. It has a stem that usually stands straight up and is smooth, without any hairs. This stem can grow up to about 35 centimeters tall, which is about the length of a standard ruler.

Stems and Leaves

The main stem might have branches, or it might just grow as a single stalk. Its leaves are long and thin, like lines, and they are also smooth and hairless. These leaves can be up to 10 centimeters long.

Flowers and Seeds

At the very top of the stem, you'll find a group of flower heads. These heads look like a single flower but are actually made of many tiny flowers grouped together. They have special leaf-like parts called phyllaries that are joined together and come to a point.

The center of the flower head is filled with many small, yellowish or greenish disc florets. There are also yellow ray florets, which are the "petals" you usually see on a daisy. However, on the smooth goldfields, these ray florets are very short. They might even be hard to see because they are almost hidden inside the phyllaries.

After the plant flowers, it produces small fruits called achenes. These are a few millimeters long and have a linear shape. Each achene is a bit hairy and has a feathery or scaly top part called a pappus. This pappus helps the seeds float away in the wind, spreading the plant to new places.