Packera glabella (Poir.) C. Jeffery - Butterweed
Family - Asteraceae
Stems:
Leaves:
Inflorescence:
Involucre:
Flowers:
Fruiting head.
Flowering - March - June.
Habitat - Open wet areas, alluvial woods, pastures, moist cultivated fields.
Origin - Native to North America.
Other information - This attractive but weedy annual species can be found throughout Alabama and is most likely found in every county. The plant is easy to identify becasue of its thick, glabrous stems, pinnately divided leaves, and many yellow flowerheads. The plant is common along roadsides and in cultivated areas. It likes moist to wet soil.
The genus Packera is named in honor of Dr. John G. Packer (1929-). Dr. Packer is a distinguished North American botanist and is currently one of the many botanists working on the Flora of North America project.
The species epithet glabellus derives from the Latin "glab" meaning "smooth" referring to the plant being without hairs. Nearly all other species in this genus are hairy.
Alabama Distribution:
Photographs taken off Hwy 80, Macon County, AL., 3-18-06.