Zizia aurea (L.) W.D.J. Koch

Golden zizia, golden Alexander

Similar species

	Thaspium barbinode	Zizia aptera	You are here Zizia aurea
Common Name	hairy-joint meadow-parsnip	heart-leaved golden alexander	golden zizia
Plant	Up to 3½′ (1 m) tall, and sparsely branched. Stems are hairless, and light green to reddish purple.	Up to 1–3′ (30–91 cm) in height, with single or multiple stems.	Up to 1–2′ (30–60 cm) in height.
Leaves	Basal leaves are 2–10″ (6–25 cm) long, divided once or twice into lanceolate to ovate leaflets ⅜–4½″ (1–12 cm) long. Stem leaves are alternate, and compound—divided two or three times, resembling Italian parsely. Each leaflet is coarsely toothed, 1–2 ⨉ ½–1″ (2.5–5 ⨉ 1.3–2.5 cm). At the base of uppermost leaf sheaths, where the leaf branches, a purple-tinged leaf sheaf with stiff white hairs is sometimes visible.	Basal leaves are heart-shaped, with rounded or blunt tips and long stalks. Upper leaves are compound, split into three leaflets or nearly unlobed. All leaves are serrated. upper leaves in two. Leaves are up to 4″ (10 cm) long and 3″ (7.6 cm) wide, heart-shaped, with finely toothed edges.	Alternate leaves are compound, and up to 8 ⨉ 5″ (20 ⨉ 12 cm) in size. Basal leaves are divided into threes; upper leaves in two. Upper leaves are up to 2½″ (7 cm) long and ⅞″ (2.5 cm) wide, with toothed edges.
Flowers	Umbels of bright yellow flowers, with flattish tops, are 2–3″ (5–7.6 cm) across. The inflorescences extend stalks that support 8-20 groups of umbellets, each with up to 20 flowers. Each diminutive flower, about ⅛″ (3.2 mm) in size, is on its own tiny pedicel. It has 5 infolded yellow petals and five yellow stamens. The folded flowers look like buds. Flowers appear in late spring or early summer.	Flowerheads have the overall shape of a flat or gently curved umbrella about 1½–3″ (3.8–7.6 cm) across, divided into 7-15 (umbellets). The smaller groups contain approximately 25 tiny yellow flowers, each less than ⅛″ (3.2 mm) across, each with five petals that remain nearly closed, and five yellow stamens.	Flowerheads have the overall shape of a gently curved umbrella, divided into smaller groups. The smaller groups—umbellets—contain approximately 25 tiny yellow flowers. Each flower is less than ⅛″ (3.2 mm) across, with five petals, five sepals, and five stamens. Flowers appear from May to June.
Fruit	Schizocarps are ~3/16″ (5–6 mm) long, two-sectioned, oval-elliptic, slightly flattened, ridged with broad wings along most ridges. Seeds are oblong, up to about ¼ inch long, ripen to dark brown.	Slightly flattened ovals, with two ridged sections that split into seeds. The seeds are ⅛″ (3 mm) long, and brown when mature.	Oblong green fruit capsules, 1/16–⅛″ (3–4 mm) long, become purple when dry.
Range/ Zones		USDA Zones: 3-8	USDA Zones: 3-8
Habitats	Mesic black soil prairies, openings in forests and woodland borders, sandy savannas, limestone and sandstone bluffs, and banks of rivers and lakes.	Black soil prairies, hillside prairies, rocky upland woodlands, limestone glades, bluffs, abandoned fields, and roadsides	Moist black soil prairies, moist to mesic woodland openings, savannas, thickets, limestone glades and bluffs, power line clearings, and abandoned fields.

Zizia aurea description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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