Florida's Chaffhead and Vanillaleaf, Carphephorus spp.

Asteraceae

Medium to large perennial herbs usually with a single erect leafy stem, from 0.5 to 1.5 m tall, from a thickened base or rhizome. Stems may be smooth, hairy, or with glands. Leaves usually in rosettes; linear, needle-like or lanceolate to oblanceolate; stem leaves alternate, essentially sessile, much smaller than basal leaves. Flowers in heads, arranged in a flat-topped, or broad cylinder inflorescence; individual heads are composed of disk flowers only, surrounded by bracts (phyllaries) in 2 to 6 rows, flowers with pink or purple corollas and with a bract (chaff) at the base. Fruit a cone-shaped achene, broadest at tip, 10-angled, topped by a pappus of numerous fine bristles.

At a glance: Herbs with a single, erect leafy stem from a basal rosette of leaves, the stem leaves alternate, small; inflorescences flat-topped or short cylindrical; heads rayless, with pink to purple disk flowers. Carphephorus is similar to Liatris, but the inflorescences are flat-topped or broadly cylindrical (thyrsoid), heads not in long spikes or narrow cylinders as in Liatris.

There are five species of Carphephorus in Florida, of which four are wetland species. Carphephorus corymbosus (Nutt.) Torr. & Gray, the single upland species, is our only species with both relatively broad leaves and large heads (greater than 1 cm long).

Key to Carphephorus in Florida.

1. Heads arranged in a broadly cylindrical (thyrsoid) inflorescence,

stem pubescent .......... C. paniculatus

          


1. Heads, arranged in a relatively flat-topped (corymbose) inflorescence

.......  2

     2. Basal leaves needle-like (acicular), inrolled

...... C. pseudoliatris

           


     2. Basal leaves broader, elliptic, spatulate to oblanceolate, not

needle-like .... 3

3. Stem smooth; basal leaves large, spatulate, to 40 cm long

..... C. odoratissimus

     


3. Stem pubescent, basal leaves smaller, spatulate to linear ..... 4


     4.  Basal leaves spatulate, heads greater than 1 cm long; 
   inflorescence flat topped

..... C. corymbosus

              


     4. Basal leaves linear to linear lanceolate, heads less than 1 cm long
  inflorescence short cylindrical ..... C. carnosus
         

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C. carnosus, flowers

Carphephorus carnosus (Small) C. W. James (synonym: Litrisa carnosa Small)
Basal rosette leaves short, to 7cm long, flat on ground, somewhat leathery, linear to linear lanceolate; inflorescence dense, short cylindrical, stems hairy.

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C. carnosus, basal leaves

Photos by Dr. John David Tobe

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Carphephorus corymbosus, flowers

Carphephorus corymbosus (Nutt.) Torr. & A. Gray, COASTAL PLAIN CHAFFHEAD
Basal rosette leaves spatulate to narrowly spatulate, to 15 cm long and 2.5 cm wide; heads large produced in a loose corymbose inflorescence, stems densely pubsescent.

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Photo by Guy Anglin

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Carphephorus odoratissimus (J. F. Gmelin) Herbert (synonym: Trilisa odoratissima (J. F. Gmelin) Cassini), DEER-TONGUE, VANILLALEAF
Stem to 1.5-2 m (5-7 ft) tall, smooth; basal rosette leaves large, to 30-40 cm long and 6-12 cm wide, oblanceolate to broadly elliptic; inflorescence open, much-branched, flat-topped, with numerous small heads. The dried leaves have a pleasant vanilla-like odor.

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C. odoratissimus, basal leaves

Photos by Dr. John David Tobe

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C. paniculatus, flowers

Carphephorus paniculatus (J. F. Gmelin) Herbert (synonym: Trilisa paniculata (J. F. Gmelin) Cassini), HAIRY CHAFFHEAD
Like C. odoratissimus but stem to about 1 m (3 ft) tall, hairy; basal rosette leaves not as large, to 20-30 cm long and 2-3 cm wide; inflorescence broadly cylindrical.

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C. paniculatus, basal leaves

Photos by Dr. John David Tobe

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C. pseudoliatris, flowers

Carphephorus pseudoliatris Cassini, BRISTLELEAF CHAFFHEAD
Basal leaves ascending, needle-like, inrolled, to 40 cm long and only 1-2 mm wide; inflorescence dense, flat-topped to somewhat globular, with 7-12 large heads.

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Photo by Dr. John David Tobe

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Habitat:
UPLAND Carphephoruss corymbosus: Sandhills, dry to relatively wet pinelands.

FAC Carphephorus odoratissimus, C. paniculatus: Hydric to mesic flatwoods, wet prairies, seepage slopes, sometimes (C. odoratissimus) sandhills.

FACW Carphephorus carnosus, C. pseudoliatris: Hydric to mesic flatwoods, wet prairies, seepage slopes.

 

Distribution:
Carphephorus carnosus - Endemic to central peninsular Florida from Brevard and Martin Counties west to Charlotte and Lee Counties.

Carphephorus corymbosus - Throughout the peninsula, west to Taylor County in north Florida, and south to Monroe County.

Carphephorus odoratissimus, C. paniculatus - Throughout except southernmost counties (Broward, Dade, and Monroe Counties).

Carphephorus pseudoliatris - Northwest Florida from Wakulla and Liberty Counties west to Escambia County.

Flowering:
Late summer to fall (especially September to November), or during the winter months southward. Sometimes flowering in mass after summer burns in flatwoods.