Brickellia floribunda

Perennials, 100-200 cm (bases woody). Stems branched, stipitate-glandular. Leaves alternate; petioles 20-35 mm; blades 3-nerved from bases, deltate-ovate or rhombic-ovate, 20-140 × 10-100 mm, bases truncate to cordate, margins irregularly dentate, apices acute, faces gland-dotted or glandular-pubescent. Heads in paniculiform arrays. Peduncles 3-18 mm, stipitate-glandular. Involucres cylindric to campanulate, 7.5-8.5 mm. Phyllaries 22-26 in 5-6 series, greenish, often purple-tinged, 3-4-striate, unequal, margins narrowly scarious (apices obtuse to acute); outer ovate to lanceolate (glandular-hirtellous, shorter than inner), inner linear-lanceolate (glabrous). Florets 15-24; corollas pale yellow-green or greenish white, 5-6.5 mm. Cypselae 2-3 mm, strigose; pappi of 30-35 white, barbellulate bristles. 2n = 18.

Flowering Aug-Oct. Near streams, canyon bottoms; 1100-1800 m; Ariz., N.Mex.; Mexico.

FNA 2006, Wiggins 1964, Kearney and Peebles 1969, McDougall 1973

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Subshrub General: Perennial herb, 1-2 m tall, sometimes more or less shrubby, often with a woody base; stems many, branched, pale green or gray brown, the upper parts glandular-viscid, often spotted with purple. Leaves: Alternate and petiolate, the petioles 2-3.5 cm long; blades 3-nerved from base, deltoid-ovate or rhombic-ovate, 2-14 cm long by 1-10 cm wide, with acute apices, truncate to cordate bases, and sharply but irregularly dentate margins, the faces gland-dotted or glandular pubescent. Flowers: Flower heads discoid, arranged in ovoid, many-headed panicles, 20-40 cm wide, the peduncles stipitate-glandular, 3-18 mm long; involucre (ring of bracts wrapped around the flower head) cylindric to campanulate, 8 mm high, the bracts (phyllaries) 22-26 in 5-6 series, greenish, often purple-tinged, 3-4 striate, unequal, with narrowly scarious margins; florets 15-24, all discs, the corollas pale yellow-green or greenish white, 5-6 mm long. Fruits: Achenes blackish, 2-3 mm, strigose, topped with a pappus of 30-35 white, barbellulate bristles. Ecology: Found in rich soil of canyon bottoms, often near streams, from 3,000-5,500 ft (914-1676 m); flowers September-October. Distribution: AZ, w NM; south to n MEX. Notes: Brickellia is a genus of shrubs and perennial herbs with all disc flowers, these usually white to cream colored; flower heads wrapped in several rows of bracts (phyllaries), the outer rows shorter than the inner rows; and 10-nerved seeds topped with white tufts of bristles. B. floribunda distinguished by being a tall, erect herb/subshrub with multiple stems 1-2 m tall radiating from a central base; large, rounded-triangular leaves; stipitate, sticky-glandular stems and peduncles; and the fact it is always found in canyons, along washes, on floodplains and in riparian zones. Similar to B. grandiflora, but that species has nodding, tassel-like flower heads and triangular leaves with very even, rounded teeth on the the edges and long-attenuate pointed tips. Ethnobotany: Unknown, but other species in the genus have a wide variety of uses. Etymology: Brickellia is named for Dr. John Brickell (1749-1809), a botanist and physician in Georgia; floribunda means many-flowered. Synonyms: None Editor: SBuckley 2010, FSCoburn 2014, AHazelton 2015