Pluchea odorata (L.) Cass.
Salt marsh fleabane
Family: Asteraceae
Habit: Annual or perennial, 5 to 12 dm. Glandular, ill-scented with purple inflorescence.
Distribution: Found in moist, often saline valley bottoms, from San Francisco Bay to the Atlantic Coast, Caribbean and northern South America.
Seed unit: Achene.
Seed: Achene 1 mm. long, minutely rough-hairy; with long, slender pappus bristles.
Embryo: Foliar type.
Purity instructions: Pure seed definition:
AOSA: PSU# 50 - Intact achene, with or without one or more of the following structures: beak, bristle, hairs, pappus, wing, or firmly attached floral remnants, provided a true seed with some degree of embryo development can be detected (either by slight pressure or by examination over light).
Piece of broken achene larger than one-half of the original size, unless no seed is present. Seed, with or without pericarp/seed coat; if broken, larger than one-half the original size.
ISTA: PSD #4 – Achene, with or without pappus, unless it is obvious that no seed is present.
Average pure seed units per gram: 36,695 seeds per gram (based on AOSA pure seed units only from 23 samples received for testing from 1996 to 2004).
Range of percent pure seed: 14% to 57%
Range of percent inert: 42% to 85%
Description of inert: Plant material, sticks, dead insects.
Planting instructions: 400 seeds, TB, 21 days @ 20-30°C; for fresh and dormant seed, prechill recommended.
References: (link to main reference page)
Hickman, J.C., Ed. 1993. p. 326.
Ransom Seed Laboratory
