Zizia aptera
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image=Zizia aptera drawing.png
|image_caption=Botanical illustration
|image2=Zizia aptera.jpg
|image2_caption=Zizia aptera in bud
|status = {{TNCStatus}}
|status_system = TNC
|genus=Zizia
|species=aptera
|authority=(A.Gray) Fernald (1939)
|synonyms=
{{Species list
|Thaspium trifoliatum var. apterum|A.Gray (1856)
|Thaspium cordatum|Torr. & A.Gray (1840)
|Zizia aptera var. occidentalis|Fernald (1939)
|Zizia cordata|W.D.J.Koch ex DC. (1830)
}}
}}
Zizia aptera is a flowering plant native to North America. Its common names include meadow zizia, golden alexanders, heart leaved golden alexanders, and prairie golden alexanders.{{cite web |url=https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ziap|title=Plants Profile for Zizia aptera (Meadow zizia) |website=plants.usda.gov |access-date=7 December 2017 |author=}}
Description
The leaves are {{Convert|2.5-10|cm|abbr=off|frac=2}} long, ovate and indented at the base, with jagged edges; the upper leaves are divided into three segments.{{Cite book |last=Spellenberg |first=Richard |url=https://archive.org/details/nationalaudubons00spel/page/342/ |title=National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region |publisher=Knopf |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-375-40233-3 |edition=rev |pages=342–343 |orig-date=1979}} Compound umbels of yellow flowers bloom atop the stems from May to July. The fruits are elliptical.
Distribution and habitat
Zizia aptera can be found throughout southern Canada and much of the continental United States, though it is absent in the Southwest, the southern Great Plains, and New England.{{GBIF|id=3034518|taxon=Zizia aptera|access-date=24 December 2022}} It inhabits wet areas.
Conservation
Zizia aptera is listed as endangered in Connecticut,[http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/wildlife/pdf_files/nongame/ets15.pdf "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015"]. State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 31 December 2017.(Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.) as rare in Indiana, as threatened in Michigan, and as "historical" (extirpated) in Rhode Island.