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Luina hypoleuca
Luina hypoleuca Benth.
Littleleaf Silverback, Silvery Luina
Asteraceae (Aster Family)
Synonym(s):
USDA Symbol: LUHY
USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
A leafy plant with several stems in a clump, covered with white wool densest on stems and undersides of leaves, and dull yellowish, rayless flower heads in a branched cluster at each stem tip.
Each leaf has a white underside, as the species name suggests (hypo means "beneath" and leuca means "white"), often contrasting with the upper surface, which may be darker. The plant must have reminded the botanist who named this genus of another, Inula, also white and woolly (Luina is an obvious anagram).
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Plant Characteristics
Duration: PerennialHabit: Subshrub
Size Notes: Up to about 2 feet tall.
Fruit: Fruit is a cypsela (pl. cypselae). Though technically incorrect, the fruit is often referred to as an achene.
Bloom Information
Bloom Color: White , YellowBloom Time: Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct
Distribution
USA: CA , OR , WACanada: BC
Native Distribution: Central British Columbia south to central California.
Native Habitat: Rocky places and cliffs.
Web Reference
Webref 30 - Calflora (2018) CalfloraWebref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter
Additional resources
USDA: Find Luina hypoleuca in USDA PlantsFNA: Find Luina hypoleuca in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Luina hypoleuca
Metadata
Record Modified: 2023-03-06Research By: TWC Staff