- Madia elegans
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Madia elegans 
Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Asterids Order: Asterales Family: Asteraceae Genus: Madia Species: M. elegans Binomial name Madia elegans
D.Don ex Lindl.Madia elegans is a species of flower in the daisy family. It is generally known as the common madia, but there are several subspecies known by various common names.
Contents
Range
The Madia elegans plant is native to western North America, but it is robust and can grow in disturbed areas there.
Description
Madia elegans has a showy flower which varies in appearance across subspecies and even within subspecies. In general it is a bright yellow daisy-like bloom with numerous thin ray flowers and several central disk flowers. It may be solid lemon yellow or have a center of a different color, from white to maroon. The strongly scented flower head grows at the end of a slender green stem. The ray flowers curl up during the daytime, opening in the late afternoon and staying open all night until mid morning. Its fruits are achenes which were historically used as food by Native Americans, including the Pomo and Miwok, who baked them or ground them into flour.
The foliage exudes a fragrant oil, hence the common name of tarweed.
Subspecies
- M. e. densifolia - showy tarweed
- M. e. elegans - common madia
- M. e. vernalis - spring madia
- M. e. wheeleri - Wheeler's tarweed
Sources
- C.Michael Hogan ed. 2010. Madia elegans. Encyclopedia of Life
- USDA Plants Profile: Madia elegans
External links
Image gallery
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Madia elegans,, San Francisco Bay Area, California -
Madia elegans flower, Northern California
Categories:- Madia
- Flora of North America
- Flora of the Western United States
- Flora of California
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