Pale-Flowered Leaf Cup

Media
Photo of leaf cup flower
Scientific Name
Polymnia canadensis
Family
Asteraceae (daisies)
Description

Leaf cup is a tall, straight perennial with gland-tipped or sticky hairs toward the stem tips. The flowerheads are single or few in open clusters. The ray florets are white, short, with toothed ends; usually 8. The disk florets are yellow and sterile. Blooms May–October. Leaves with short stalks or stalkless, with 3–5 toothed, long-stalked lobes in a pinnate (featherlike) configuration. The bases of larger leaves often have rounded, leaflike appendages at the leaf stem base, wrapping around the plant stem. The appendages at the bases of a pair of opposite leaves together form a "cup" around the node, giving this plant its common name. Leaves are bluish green and very soft.

Other Common Names
Leaf Cup
Whiteflower Leafcup
Small-Flowered Leaf Cup
Canadian Leaf Cup
Size

Height: to 5 feet.

Where To Find
image of Leaf Cup Pale-Flowered Leaf Cup distribution map

Scattered in the Ozark and Ozark Border divisions of southern and central Missouri. Also in some additional counties along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

Leaf cup often occurs in large colonies along stream terraces. It is also common in moist, shaded areas in loose rubble at the bases of steep, rocky slopes or bluffs.

The unusual "leaf cups" at the base of the leaves of this plant represent the countless variations in the plant world. Botanists are people who study plants in all their variety. This helps humans by increasing our knowledge of environmental issues, crop production, biochemicals, and much more.

Plants, like this perennial in the daisy family, colonize rocky areas and over time make those areas more hospitable to other plants. Their leaves and seeds are eaten by a variety of animals.

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About Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants in Missouri
A very simple way of thinking about the green world is to divide the vascular plants into two groups: woody and nonwoody (or herbaceous). But this is an artificial division; many plant families include some species that are woody and some that are not. The diversity of nonwoody vascular plants is staggering! Think of all the ferns, grasses, sedges, lilies, peas, sunflowers, nightshades, milkweeds, mustards, mints, and mallows — weeds and wildflowers — and many more!