Common goldenweed, Drummonds goldenweed

Iscoma coronopifolia (Gray) Greene

Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Description

Common goldenweed and Drummonds goldenweed are native, warm-season, perennial subshrubs with woody taproots.

Common goldenweed usually has leaves that are pinnately (arranged on a common axis) lobed with three or four deep lobes. It can also have clusters of small leaves in the leaf axils. The leaves of Drummonds goldenweed are seldom lobed and may have only a few prominent teeth on the leaf margins.

Leaf-like bracts occur below the flower heads of both species. The bracts of common goldenweed are usually about ┬╝ inch long; those of Drummonds goldenweed are commonly ┬╝ to ┬¢ inch long.

Each species has a round-topped mass of flowering heads. The flowering heads are yellow, and the plants have no ray or showy flowers.

Habitat

Common goldenweed is distributed throughout the western part of the South Texas Plains on dry, open, calcareous soils. Drummonds goldenweed occurs on the coastal half of South Texas on various soil types; it is considered a more aggressive weedy species.