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| head--the rays of Silphium are very long. In this genus, only the ray flowers produce fruit; the disk flowers are functionally staminate. In most of the rest of the Asteraceae, the disk flowers alone produce fruit. | phyllaries (bracts) underneath the inflorescence |
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| the stems in Silphium are extremely hairy, having a sandpaper feel | the lower leaves of S. radula are opposite (also, do you notice how the stem appears square?); however,... |
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| ...the upper stem leaves show a tendency to be alternate | |
