Home Plantaginaceae Besseya

Besseya bullii (Eaton) Rydb.

Common Name: KITTEN-TAIL
Coefficient of Conservatism: 10
Coefficient of Wetness: 5
Wetness Index: UPL
Physiognomy: Nt P-Forb
Status: E

Sandy grasslands and hillsides with sparse oaks. Ranges rather locally from Michigan and southwest Ohio to Iowa and southeastern Minnesota.

Besseya bullii, initially described as Gymnandra bullii by Amos Eaton in 1840. was named for George H. Bull (1818-1854), botanical assistant to John Wright (1838) and Douglass Houghton (1839) during the First Survey. The species was based on a First Survey specimen, but this specimen has not been located and probably has been lost. Bull collected or assisted in collecting about 900 surviving specimens during 1838 and 1839, His collections are at the University of Michigan Herbarium and the National Arboretum Herbarium. 

The inconspicuous yellow flowers are in a long spike-like inflorescence at the end of an unbranched stem bearing many small leaves.

N. Martineau

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Counties
Barry
Eaton
Ionia
Jackson
Kalamazoo
Kent
St. Joseph
Van Buren

Citation:
MICHIGAN FLORA ONLINE. A. A. Reznicek, E. G. Voss, & B. S. Walters. February 2011. University of Michigan. Web. January, 23, 2025
https://lsa-miflora-p.lsait.lsa.umich.edu/#/record/1929