Elephantopus nudatus A. Gray

Smooth Elephant's Foot

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Smooth Elephant's Foot is a native herbaceous perennial in the Sunflower family. It is most common in the southern half of the state, but can be found nearly state wide. Smooth Elephant's Foot occurs in moist to wet sandy pine woods, around ponds, and on wet roadsides. It is a perennial with a taproot or short rhizome. Leaves form a basal rosette. Leaves are oblanceolate to spatulate in outline, gland dotted, and pubescent on both surfaces. Leaves tend to be longer, narrower, and darker green in color than our other Elephant Foot species. Flowering stems are 1-2 feet in height and mostly leafless or with 1-2 reduced leaves. The flowering stems are pubescent and usually dark purple in color, at least towards the base. Flowers are produced in heads. The heads are arranged in corymbs. Each head is sessile and subtended by three leaf-like bracts. The heads consist of disc flowers with the inner phyllaries sparsely pubescent with hairs 0.05-0.3 mm in length. The phyllaries often have a distinctive reddish-purple margin. The flowers are 5 lobed and purple in color. The fruit is an achene.--A. Diamond

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Native FAC (NWPL)

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