Heterotheca villosa

Heterotheca villosa, commonly known as the hairy goldenaster, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae found in central and western North America.

Description
The plant grows to 50 cm in height and the leaves are 1.5-3 cm in average length. Blooming from May to October, the flower head is about 2.5 cm wide, with yellow ray and disk florets. The seeds have white bristles at the tip. The species is somewhat difficult to identify, with a number of close relatives and many varieties.


 * Varieties
 * Heterotheca villosa var. ballardii (Rydb.) Semple - northern Great Plains in US and Canada
 * Heterotheca villosa var. depressa (Rydb.) Semple - Wyoming
 * Heterotheca villosa var. foliosa (Nutt.) V.L.Harms - Rockies, Black Hills, northern Cascades, etc.
 * Heterotheca villosa var. minor (Hook.) Semple - Rockies, Cascades, Sierra Nevada, etc.
 * Heterotheca villosa var. nana (A.Gray) Semple - Rockies + other mountains from South Dakota to Arizona
 * Heterotheca villosa var. pedunculata (Greene) V.L.Harms ex Semple - Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah
 * Heterotheca villosa var. scabra (Eastw.) Semple - Mexico, southwestern USA
 * Heterotheca villosa var. sierrablancensis  Semple - New Mexico
 * Heterotheca villosa var. villosa - northern Great Plains, Columbia Plateau, etc.

Distribution and habitat
The species is widespread across central and western North America, from Ontario west to British Columbia and south as far as Illinois, Kansas, Nuevo León, Guanajuato, and northern Baja California. It grows on plains, rocky slopes and cliffs, at low elevations and in coniferous forests.

Cultivation
The wildflower gardener Claude A. Barr regarded it as a useful plant in the garden for its masses of bright yellow flowers.