Growth Habits of the Strange & Bizarre : Giant Coreopsis, Leptosyne gigantea

Published on Mar 15, 2020 Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't

"In this episode of Crime Pays, we take you to a dune habitat full of rare plants during the initial stages of the 21st century's first pandemic. The plant community here is highlighted by a member of the sunflower family that is thought to have recolonized the mainland after emerging as a species on the Channel Islands, 80 miles away. This plant exhibits some of the many traits found on plants that evolve on relatively small islands - seeds with reduced dispersal potential (in this case a tiny pappus) and enlarged size and habit compared to other species in the genus."