(narrowleaf saw-wort)
Select an option below for more information on this species
Photo of Saussurea angustifolia by Jacob Frank
|
Saussurea angustifolia is a perennial herb with purple flowers and
linear leaves that occurs widely across Denali from boreal
muskegs into alpine tundra. Plants grow 10-40 cm tall from a woody
rhizome. Leaves are all attached to the stem, dark green,
linear to
lanceolate in outline, with
entire or irregularly
toothed margins, and often covered in white wooly hair. The stem is upright, dark purple, bearing numerous (2-10) flower heads. The
inflorescence can vary from densely packed (appearing like a single flower) to an open, branched flat-topped arrangement (
corymb). Flower heads contain only disc flowers with purple
corollas. The
stigmas are dark purple and exserted from the petals. The fruit is a single-seeded
achene with a tuft of tawny hairs (
pappus).
Saussurea angustifolia is a distinctive species, the combination of
linear leaves and purple Aster-like flowering heads is diagnostic. The park also has
S. angustifolia var.
yukonensis, a scree-slope and tundra inhabiting close relative which is tufted, low-growing and has broader leaves.
Saussurea angustifolia flowers mid-late summer.
S. angustifolia is
monoecious and insect pollinated. Seeds have a tuft of hairs and are wind disseminated.
Saussurea angustifolia is an amphi-Beringian species with an arctic-alpine distribution. In North America this species ranges from Alaska across northernmost Canada and south into British Columbia. In Alaska, Saussurea angustifolia occurs statewide except is absent or rare in the southeastern panhandle and the Aleutian Islands. In Denali, this species occurs in suitable habitat park-wide on both sides of the Alaska Range.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right, depicting recent Denali data.
In Denali, S. angustifolia is found at elevations from 174 m to 1667 m, with an average site elevation of 829 m. It is found on slopes ranging from flat to 41 degrees with an average slope angle of 8 degrees. This species seemed to slightly prefer north-facing slopes.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right. For more on how to interpret these figures, visit Understanding Data Presented.
Wide-ranging; wet to dry sites.
