Microseris

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Microserissylvatica.jpg

| image_caption = Microseris sylvatica

| display_parents = 3

| taxon = Microseris

| authority = D.Don

| synonyms_ref = {{Cite POWO | last1 = POWO | author-link1 = Plants of the World Online | year = 2023 | id = 30004673-2 | title = Microseris D.Don | access-date = 15 April 2023 }}

| synonyms =

• Apargidium Torr. & A.Gray
• Bellardia Colla
• Calais DC.
• Fichtea Sch.Bip.
• Galasia Sch.Bip.
• Lepidonema Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
• Nothocalais (A.Gray) Greene
• Phyllopappus Walp.
• Ptilocalais Greene
• Ptilophora A.Gray
• Scorzonella Nutt.
• Stebbinsoseris K.L.Chambers
• Uropappus Nutt.

}}

Microseris is a genus of plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae, plants that often called composites.{{cite GCD |title=Microseris |id=1076150 |access-date=2023-05-17}} They are native to North America, South America, Australia, and New Zealand.

Plants in the genus can either be annuals or perennials. Perennial plants in Microseris usually have a taproot or a caudex with the exception of Microseris borealis, which is rhizomatous. The leaves are mostly or entirely basal, growing very near the surface of the soil rather than being held on stems above ground level. When blooming the flowers are alone on the top of stems and are held upright when blooming and when producing seeds. The flowers are shades of orange or yellow with a superficial resemblance to dandelions.{{cite web |last1=Chambers |first1=Kenton L. |title= Microseris D. Don - FNA |url=http://floranorthamerica.org/Microseris |website=Flora of North America |access-date=17 April 2023 |date=2020}}{{cite web |last1=Chambers |first1=Kenton L. |title= Nothocalaïs D. Don - FNA |url=http://floranorthamerica.org/Nothocala%C3%AFs |website=Flora of North America |access-date=17 April 2023 |date=2020}}

There is currently disagreement about which species should be placed in Microseris. Plants of the World Online (POWO) synonymizes genus Nothocalais into Microseris. While the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS database (PLANTS),{{Cite PLANTS | date = 2023 | id = NOTHO5 | taxon = Nothocalais (A. Gray) Greene | access-date = 15 April 2023 }} World Flora Online (WFO),{{cite web |last1=WFO |title=Nothocalais (A.Gray) Greene |url=http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000026263 |website=World Flora Online |access-date=15 April 2023 |date=2023}} the Global Compositae Database (GCD),{{cite GCD |title=Nothocalais |id=1075320 |access-date=2023-05-17}} and Flora of North America (FNA) continue to list Nothocalais as a separate genus as of 2023.

The only species classified by WFO in Nothocalais is Microseris nigrescens as Nothocalais nigrescens, which is also the classification in PLANTS and FNA. The other species classified by PLANTS and FNA as Nothocalais are Microseris alpestris (N. alpestris), Microseris cuspidata (N. cuspidata), and Microseris troximoides (N. troximoides).

According to POWO Microseris contains the following 22 species:

class="wikitable" |+ !Scientific Name !Authority !Common Name !Native Range

Microseris acuminata |Greene |Sierra foothill silverpuffs |California, Oregon

Microseris alpestris |(A.Gray) Q.Jones ex Cronquist |alpine lake false dandelion |California, Oregon, Washington

Microseris bigelovii |(A.Gray) Sch.Bip. |coastal silverpuffs |British Columbia, California, Oregon, Washington

Microseris borealis |(Bong.) Sch.Bip. |northern microseris |Alaska, British Columbia, California, Oregon, Washington

Microseris campestris |Greene |San Joaquin silverpuffs |California

Microseris cuspidata |(Pursh) Sch.Bip. |prairie false dandelion |Alberta, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Manitoba, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Microseris decipiens |K.L.Chambers |Santa Cruz silverpuffs |California

Microseris douglasii |(DC.) Sch.Bip. |Douglas' silverpuffs |California, Mexico Northwest, Oregon

Microseris elegans |Greene ex A.Gray |elegant silverpuffs |California, Mexico Northwest

Microseris heterocarpa |(Nutt.) K.L.Chambers |grassland silverpuffs |Arizona, California, Mexico Northwest

Microseris howellii |A.Gray |Howell's silverpuffs |Oregon

Microseris laciniata |(Hook.) Sch.Bip. |cutleaf silverpuffs |California, Oregon, Washington

Microseris lanceolata |(Walp.) Sch.Bip. |murnong |New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Microseris lindleyi |(DC.) A.Gray |Lindley's silverpuffs |Arizona, British Columbia, California, Idaho, Mexico Northwest, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington

Microseris nigrescens |L.F.Hend. |speckled false dandelion |Idaho, Montana, Wyoming

Microseris nutans |(Hook.) Sch.Bip. |nodding microseris |Alberta, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

Microseris paludosa |(Greene) J.T.Howell |marsh silverpuffs |California

Microseris pygmaea |D.Don | |Chile Central, Chile North, Peru

Microseris scapigera |Sch.Bip. |plains yam daisy |New Zealand South, Tasmania, Victoria

Microseris sylvatica |Sch.Bip. |sylvan scorzonella |California

Microseris troximoides |A.Gray |sagebrush false dandelion |British Columbia, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

Microseris walteri |Gand. |murnong or yam daisy |New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia