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Plant Profile

Single-head Goldenweed (Oonopsis foliosa var. monocephala)

Near Highway 160 in Colorado, the sandy, semi-arid short-grass steppe habitat where this species is found. Photo Credit: J. Locklear

Global Rank: T2 - Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Asteraceae
State: CO
Nature Serve ID: 147380
Lifeform: Forb/herb, Subshrub
Date Inducted in National Collection: 02/10/1987

Description:

The high plains of southeastern Colorado is home to the rayless goldenweed, a wildflower that occurs in places where erosion has thinned the mantle of shortgrass prairie. The ecology of this plant may have been linked with the massive bison herds that once thrashed the prairie during their migrations and created such open places in the past. Today the largest populations of rayless goldenweed occur on a facility of the U.S. Army where tanks now accomplish a similar kind of disturbance.

Where is Single-head Goldenweed (Oonopsis foliosa var. monocephala) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Sparsely vegetated clayey flats and along gullies and eroding toeslopes of limestone hills. Soils typically alkaline, clayey and calcareous, with moderate to high erosion potential. Occurs in a variety of semi-arid grassland and shrubland vegetation. Most often associated with shortgrass prairie, but also occurs in association with shrubs such as Bigelow sage (Artemisia bigelovii) and yucca (Yucca glauca). Elevation 4000-6000 ft.

Distribution:

Limited to southeastern Colorado in Las Animas County.

States & Provinces:

Single-head Goldenweed can be found in Colorado

Which CPC Partners conserve Single-head Goldenweed (Oonopsis foliosa var. monocephala)?

Lauritzen Gardens

Not Sponsored

Assigned 06/09/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

10/10/2020

Successfully propagated from seed, with no special pretreatment needed (Nebraska Statewide Arboretum).

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Endemic to Las Animas County, Colorado but quite common in certain edaphic situations (e-mail from G.K. Brown, Univ. Wyoming, to K. Maybury 8/20/96).

Jim Locklear

01/01/2010

Appears to be stable, particularly within the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site where vehicle activity creates effective disturbance of shortgrass prairie vegetation (Schulz and Shaw 1992).

Jim Locklear

01/01/2010

Occurs in a variety of grassland and shrubland plant communities on the U.S. Army Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site in Las Animas County, Colorado (Shaw et al. 1989). Can be abundant within a population.

Jim Locklear

01/01/2010

Successfully propagated from seed, with no special pretreatment needed (Nebraska Statewide Arboretum).

Jim Locklear

01/01/2010

Clarification of taxonomic status. Monitoring of populations.