Desert Chicories

(Rafinesquia neo-mexicana, Calycoseriis wrightii)

Family Asteraceae

While observing these flowers, we noticed some differences, as below, in both number of petals and other features of the flowers -- the left flower has considerably more than the one on the right. Click on the image to enlarge.

And as we looked closer, we could see differences in the amount of red-streaking on the underneath sides of the petals, but also in the smoothness of the stem on the right, versus the "tacked" stem surface on the left, below.

Click on each image to enlarge it.

..

According to our sources, Niehaus1984 (pp. 106-107) and Epple 1995 (Pls 260,261, pp. 262 & 288) -- see references on the main flower page -- the tacked stems indicate Calicoseriis (called "White Tackstem" by both authors) while the smooth stems indicate Rafinesquia (Called "Desert Chicory" by Epple, "New Mexico Plumeseed" by Niehaus). If these differences do indicate the presence of the two different types of the Chicory Tribe, then the flower below is clearly of the genus Rafinesquia, since its stems are glabrous: