Lanceleaf Blanketflower

Description:

This plant is a perennial herb, sometimes growing from a rhizome, reaching maximum heights around 60 centimeters or more. The leaves are borne alternately along the stem. They are variable in shape and up to 6 centimeters long. The ones toward the top may clasp the stem at their bases. The flower heads are lined with several phyllaries. There are usually 6 to 12 ray florets, sometimes up to 15, but sometimes none. These are variable in color, being purplish, yellowish, or whitish. There are many disc florets at the center, also variable in color, especially across the varieties.

Habitat:

This was in section 39 of the LBJ Grasslands. It was a dry prairie area or mesa. The soil had ocean fossils showing. Parts of this area of Texas have Crustaceous era ocean bottom exposed.

Notes:

Lyndon B. Johnson Grasslands is 20,313 acres located in north-central Texas. Before the federal government purchased them back in the late 1930s, the grasslands were mostly abandoned farms and ranches suffering from severe soil errosion from poor agricultural practices.