Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Tasselflower Brickellbush
Brickellia grandiflora
Aster family (Asteraceae)

The , triangular leaves and large, rayless, drooping, white-yellow flowers of Tasselflower are unusual but so similar to several others in its that it can be confused with them. They are separated as follows: B. grandiflora is , not shrubby; its flower head is bell-shaped, not cylindrical; its leaves are triangular and longer than broad, not egg-shaped, , or equally long as broad. B. grandiflora is often found in forested rocky areas. The plant is used in herbal medicine for combating high blood glucose levels and type 2, insulin-resistant diabetes. John Brickell was an early American physician and naturalist.


©2011 Barry Breckling

Description

, 1-3' tall, clump-forming, growing from long, thickened . Leaves mostly , -, with margins. Stems green to straw colored. The white, cream or yellow flowers are rayless and drooping, up to 2" long. are 10- .

Field Marks

Large drooping tassel-like flowers and triangular leaves.

© Al Schneider

linear -- Long and very narrow like a blade of grass.

achene -- a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. For example, a rose hip holds a few achenes.

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

ribbed -- having prominent, narrow parallel protrusions that extend over most of its length or circumference.

ovate -- Oval, egg-shaped, with a tapering point.

taproot -- The primary decending root of a plant.

Like the teeth on a saw, leaves and other surfaces can have toothed edges.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

deltoid -- a triangular leaf shape. The stem attaches to the middle of a flat side.

genus -- A subdivision of a botanical Family in which all members have a significant number of similar characteristics.

alternate -- leaves alternate along the main stem and are attached singly.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.