Compositae/insect mystery

[Greg J. Schmidt]

The plant appears to be Garberia heterophylla, a woody relative of
Liatris ('Blazing Star') endemic to Florida.



John Nelson wrote:

> TH 10 Dec 1100h
>
> FRIENDS
>
>     Another mystery plant, this one for the synantherologists...Don't
> know exactly where the color slides were taken:
>
>    habit and closeup at: http://cricket.biol.sc.edu/mystery-a.JPG
>                          http://cricket.biol.sc.edu/mystery-b.JPG
>
>     I believe these to be cultivated here in South Carolina. The
> plants are close to Eupatorieae, maybe close to Sachsia? Anthers
> without basal appendages; foliage finely atomiferous, but a dried
> piece of the plant is not aromatic.
>
>     Note also the colorful insects on the flowers. Eating them?
>
>         Thanks JOHN
>
>     (My thanks to Tim Mousseau for scanning the slides)
>
> John B. Nelson
> Curator of the Herbarium (USCH)
> Department of Biological Sciences
> University of South Carolina
> Columbia SC 29208
>
> nelson at sc.edu
> 803-777-8196 phone
> 803-777-4002 fax
>
> Non totum difficile est, sed nihil facile.