Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (5/21/15):
Coreopsis major var. rigida
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Coreopsis major at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The 2022 draft of Weakley's Flora does not recognize the two varieties, but offers this info: "Sometimes recognized in C. major are two varieties: var. major (with leaf blades rather densely short-pubescent, outer phyllaries rather densely short-pubescent, middle leaflet of median leaves 10-30mm wide, and leaflets herbaceous) and var. rigida (with leaf blades slightly short-pubescent to glabrous, outer phyllaries slightly short-pubescent to glabrous, middle leaflet of median leaves 5-10 (-12) mm wide, leaflets subcoriaceous and stiff). Variation and poor correlation of these features as stated and the presence of significant and apparently variation in other features requires additional study before a satisfying taxonomy can be presented." Read more by downloading the PDF.
Various authors have described several varieties of C. major. It is clear that there are two main forms. One has downy pubescent, thin leaves that are wide and another has narrower, leathery, thick leaves that are smooth. There are diploid and polyploid complexes within this group, and it is likely that several segregate taxa will one day be recognized as distinct. Read more in A Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina, 2nd ed..
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Coreopsis major
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDING & INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-69-009b:
Coreopsis major var. stellata FAMILY Asteraceae
INCLUDING Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Coreopsis major var. stellata
INCLUDING Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Coreopsis major var. rigida
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Coreopsis major
COMMON NAME:
Whorled Coreopsis, Stiffleaf Coreopsis, Greater Tickseed, Whorled Tickseed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm200409_3650
April Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
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JK Marlow jkm200422_4029
April Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
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JK Marlow jkm220409_6586
April Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm120525_496
May Oconee County SC
Rays yellow and not (or inconspicuously) toothed; disc flowers yellow or red, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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JK Marlow jkm120525_499
May Oconee County SC
Outer involucral bracts oblong or oblanceolate, 2-10mm; inner lanceolate 5-8mm, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
involucral bracts of Bidens and Coreopsis
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JK Marlow jkm0406g_12
June Greenville County SC
Roadside
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JK Marlow jkm0406l_15
June Greenville County SC
Roadside
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JK Marlow jkm160629_123
June McCormick County SC
The leaves of this depauperate individual are not 3-parted.
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JK Marlow jkm200625_6033
June Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
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JK Marlow jkm210626_1637
June Oconee County SC
Two varieties side by side: var. major in lower left; var. rigida upper right.
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JK Marlow jkm210626_1731
June Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
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JK Marlow s040610_ab
June Greenville County SC
Roadside
The opposite paired leaves are so deeply cut they resemble 6 whorled leaves, per Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962).
COMPARE
leaves of Indian Cucumberroot, Starry Campion, Whorled Coreopsis and Loosestrife
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JK Marlow jkm090726_139
July Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm120704_475
July Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm120704_479
July Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm150712_421
July Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
Middle leaflet of median leaves 5-10(12)mm wide [narrower than var. major], per Weakley's Flora (2015).
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JK Marlow jkm220705_8925
July Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
The upper leaves of this individual are not three-parted.
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JK Marlow jkm220715_9144
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
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Keith Bradley kab_coreopsis_major_2184
July Haywood County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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Tim Spira tps_cmajor2
July
The recognition of [C. major] varieties is problematic and controversial, per Weakley's Flora.
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JK Marlow jkm120812_427b
August Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Outer phyllaries slightly short-pubescent to glabrous, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm061029_020
October Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Stems and leaves glabrous, or essentially so, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm221004_0139
October Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
A depauperate individual with most leaves small and not three-parted...
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JK Marlow jkm181104_5613
November Oconee County SC
Another whose leaves are not three-parted...
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (5/21/15):
Coreopsis major var. rigida
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Coreopsis major
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDING & INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-69-009b:
Coreopsis major var. stellata
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDING
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Coreopsis major var. stellata
INCLUDING
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Coreopsis major var. rigida
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Coreopsis major
374
Forb
Perennial
Look for it in dry woodlands and forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
LEAVES:
Palmately compound: 3(5) leaflets
Opposite appearing whorled
Leaves sessile
FLOWER:
Summer
Rays: Yellow
Disc: Yellow/Red
Disk flowers have 5 corolla lobes & 5 anthers
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual/ Ray flowers pistillate
FRUIT:
Summer
Black
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p137?
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p044?
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p118?
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p096
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p211?
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p268
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p394
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p308
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p169?
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p125?
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p274?
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p071
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p287?
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p336?
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p355
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p194?
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p057
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