Chrysopsis gossypina ssp. cruiseana (Dress) Semple is native to the barrier islands and coastal dunes of western Panhandle Florida. The stems are decumbent with only the ends elevated above the sand. It has smooth, dark, shiny leaves and phyllaries and fruits with reddish brown ridges. Like other taxa in C. gossypina is 2n=18. It has been documented to hybridize with 2n=10 C. godfreyi producing a 2n=14 F1 plants (Semple and Chinnappa 1980).
1-3. Chrysopsis gossypina ssp. cruiseana. 1. Decumbent habit, Semple & Godfrey 3151, Ft. Walton Beach, Okaloosa Co., Florida. 2. Inflorescence, Semple 10563, Oklaloosa Co., Florida. 3. Head, Godfrey 75771, Florida.
Semple, J.C., and C.C. Chinnappa. 1980. Phylogenetic implications of meiosis in wild and cultivated interspecific hybrids in Chrysopsis (Compositae-Astereae): C. godfreyi (n = 5) × C. gossypina x ssp. cruiseana (n = 9) and C. godfreyi (n = 5) × linearifolia (n = 5). Can. J. Bot. 58: 172-181.
Last revised 18 April 2025 by J.C. Semple
© 2025 J.C. Semple, including all photographs unless otherwise indicated