Coreopsis tinctoria, commonly known as plains coreopsis, garden tickseed, golden tickseed, or calliopsis, is an annual forb in the Asteraceae family. The species is common in Canada (from Quebec to British Columbia), northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas), and most of the United States, especially the Great Plains and Southern States. It has been introduced and naturalized into many parts of Europe and Asia.
It often grows in disturbed areas such as roadsides and cultivated fields.
Description
Growing quickly, Coreopsis tinctoria attains heights of . Its leaves are pinnately-divided, glabrous and tend to thin at the top of the plant where numerous flower heads sit atop slender stems.Flora of North America, Coreopsis tinctoria Nuttall, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia. 2: 114. 1821.
Flower heads are brilliant yellow with maroon or brown disc florets of various sizes. Flowering typically occurs in mid-summer. The small, slender seeds germinate in fall (overwintering as a low rosette) or early spring. Ray florets have notched tips.
Distribution and habitat
Coreopsis tinctoria is native to most of the central United States. Within North America, it is thought to be introduced in the western and eastern United States and eastern Canada.A biosystematic study of Coreopsis tinctoria and C. cardaminefolia (Compositae). Edwin B. Smith and Hampton M. Parker, Brittonia, Volume 23, Number 2, pages 161-170, Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
The species is widely grown residentially and commercially, and has become naturalized in China,Flora of China, 两色金鸡菊 liang se jin ji ju Coreopsis tinctoria Nuttall and has been recorded as introduced into much of Europe, parts of Asia, and in Mozambique.
Habitat In its native habitat, this species typically prefers to grow in moist, sandy (or clay) soil in habitats such as prairies, savannas, and plains at elevations of above sea level. Plants will readily grow in human-disturbed areas such as roadsides, ditches, and agricultural pastures.
Ecology Coreopsis tinctoria is pollinated by a wide variety of insects, including long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, butterflies and beetles. Coreopsis tinctoria serves as a larval host plant for various insects, such as Synchlora aerata, Tornos scolopacinarius and Calligrapha californica.
Taxonomy Coreopsis tinctoria was first formally named and described by Thomas Nuttall in 1821 in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. It has been moved to the genera Bidens, Calliopsis and Diplosastera (in 1905, 1836, and 1823, respectively), however the name Coreopsis tinctoria has been retained by plant authorities such as PoWO, USDA Plants, and Flora of North America.
Etymology The specific epithet tinctoria refers to the plant's use in dyeing. In English, this species is commonly known as plains coreopsis, garden coreopsis, golden coreopsis, and calliopsis. In French, this species is known as .
Varieties Coreopsis tinctoria, as treated by PoWO and the Flora of North America, includes plants that others have treated as distinct subdivisions of C. tinctoria or as separate species.
Plants that are sometimes treated as separate from C. tinctoria include, but are not limited to;
Coreopsis atkinsoniana Coreopsis cardaminifolia C. tinctoria var. similis
Uses The Zuni people traditionally use the blossoms of the tinctoria variety to make a mahogany red dye for yarn,Stevenson, Matilda Coxe 1915 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30 (p.80) and, until the introduction of coffee by traders, to make a hot beverage.Stevenson, p.66 Women also used an infusion of the whole plant of this variety, except for the root, if they desired a female child.Stevenson, p.84
Cultivation
Plains coreopsis is cultivated as an ornamental plant for gardens, and as a native plant for wildlife gardens and natural landscaping. It grows well in many types of soil, but seems to prefer sandy or well-drained loam soils. Although somewhat drought-tolerant, naturally growing plants are usually found in areas with regular rainfall. Preferring full sun, it will also grow in partial shade. Though plains coreopsis is often described as an annual some plants will behave more like biannuals growing larger and blooming more in their second year.
Cultivars Because of its easy growing habits and the bright, showy flowers of cultivars such as 'Roulette' (tiger stripes of gold on a deep mahogany ground), plains coreopsis is increasingly used for landscape beautification and in flower gardens.
References
External links
United States Department of Agriculture Plant Conservation Service: Coreopsis tinctoria Oklahoma State University, Forest & Pasture Management