Participant Info

Species

Heterotheca pumila [Chrysopsis pumila] [Chrysopsis cooperi] [Chrysopsis alpicola]

Family

Asteraceae

CommonName

alpine false goldenaster

Presence

YES

Status

native

EarliestDate

1984

LatestDate

2022

Ecosystem

montane, subalpine

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Hinsdale, Mineral, Saguache, San Juan

Passes

Cochetopa, Los Pinos, Music, Stony

WildlifePreserves

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Saguache Co, just E of old Cochetopa pass 18 Aug 2022

Comments

In the Watershed, Heterotheca pumila has been frequently collected, usually at higher elevations but occasionally as low as 9,170' (near Wagon Wheel Gap in Mineral Co). The species is distinguished by its (usually) solitary heads and long and relatively narrow capitular bracts. The USA distribution is almost all of the central Colorado mountains, with a few records from adjacent areas of southern Wyoming,and northern New Mexico, where it has been recorded only from Rio Arriba and Taos counties. There is some dispute about the key characteristics that distinguish the species from H. villosa, H. foliosa, and H. fulcrata, and therefore the herbarium records are probably not entirely dependable. Of these three species, Nesom (2020) finds only H. pumila in the Watershed.

Annotation