**Filago gallica L. (Asteraceae)**

**Narrow-leaved Filago**

**Description.** Annual, herbaceous, 5-20 cm tall, stems erect, often
branching at or below the middle, grayish woolly. Leaves alternate,
0.5-2 cm long, less than 2 mm wide, appressed to stiffly erect, linear
to narrowly oblong, entire, revolute, the bases tapered, the apices
acute to somewhat sharp-acuminate. Heads clustered near the branch tips,
subtended and surpassed by erect, leaf-like bracts, discoid (all
corollas radial and tubular), 3-5 mm long, cylindrical to ovoid and
constricted near the apex. True phyllaries apparently absent and
replaced by chaffy scales of which the outer 5 are in one series,
tightly enfolding the outer flowers, densely woolly; inner chaffy scales
several, somewhat flat. Flowers of two forms, the outer ones pistillate,
strongly curved at the junction of the achene and the filiform corolla,
the inner ones bisexual or pistillate, surrounded by a series of short,
hyaline scales. Achenes of two forms, the outer ca 1 mm long, with a
curved beak, becoming very hard, glabrous, pappus absent, the inner ones
ca. 1 mm long, ovoid, minutely papillose, with a deciduous capillary
pappus. In California, flowering in April to July. (Clapham et al. 1962,
Ferris 1960, Holub 1976, Morefield 1993, Munz 1959).

**Synonyms:** *Logfia gallica* (L.) Cosson & Germ. (Holub 1976).

**Geographic distribution**. *Filago gallica* is native to Europe and
northern Africa (Clapham et al. 1962, Holub 1976, Munz 1959). It
apparently is naturalized in North America only in Oregon, California,
and northern Baja California, and has also been introduced into
Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii (Chapman 1991, Morefield 1993, Wagner
et al. 1990, Webb et al. 1988 ).

*Filago gallica* was first reported from northern California and the
Sierra foothills by Jepson (1925). By the middle of the 20th century, it
still was either narrowly distributed or remained obscure, because
Robbins (1940), Robbins et al (1970), and Ferris (1960) merely referred
to Jepson's 1925 report. Naturalized populations of *Filago gallica*
occur on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands (Junak et al. 1997) and are
reported from most counties west of the Sierra Nevada (Anonymous 1998).

**Ecological distribution**. In both natural and naturalized geographic
ranges, *Filago* occurs on disturbed sites of waste areas, open ground
in grassland and shrubslands, and abandoned fields (Chapman 1991,
Morefield 1993, Munz 1959, Robbins et al. 1970, Wagner et al. 1990, Webb
et al. 1988).

**Reproductive and vegetative biology**. No literature discussing
reproductive or vegetative biology of *Filago* *gallica* (or other
species in the genus) was found. *Filago* presumably reproduces entirely
by seeds. Like many small-flowered Asteraceae, *Filago* is presumably
self-compatible and either self-pollinating or pollinated by wind
(Proctor et al. 1996, Richards 1978) or both. Like other Asteraceae with
a capillary pappus and small light seeds, *Filago* probably has a
relatively high level of dispersability (Anderson 1992, Sheldon and
Burrows 1973).

**Weed status**. *Filago gallica* is not considered a noxious weed in
agricultural or horticultural practice, at least at a global level (not
listed by Holm et al. 1977), nor is it considered a noxious weed by the
State Dept. of Food and Agriculture (Anonymous 1996) or elsewhere in the
United States (Lorenzi and Jeffery 1987).

**Fungal and insect pathogens**. No literature was found that reported
*Filago gallica* as a host of detrimental fungal or insect pathogens.

**Herbicide control**. No literature was found that reported herbicide
treatment.

**Literature Cited**

Anderson, M. 1992. An analysis of variability in seed settling
velocities of

several wind-dispersed Asteraceae. American Journal of Botany. 79:
1087-1091.

Anonymous. 1996. Exotic pest plants of greatest ecological concern in
California as of August 1996. California Exotic Pest Plant Council. 8
pp.

Anonymous. 1998. California county flora database version 2, Santa
Barbara Botanic Garden and USDA National Plants Data Center, Santa
Barbara and New Orleans. URL = plants.usda.gov

Chapman, A. 1991. Australian plan name index. A-C. Australian Government
Publishing Service, Canberra. 897 pp.

Clapham, A., T. Tutin, and E. Warburg. 1962. Flora of the British Isles.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1269 pp.

Ferris, R. 1960. Illustrated flora of the Pacific states. Volume 4.
Bignoniaceae to Compositae. Stanford University Press, Stanford,
California. 732 pp.

Holub, H. 1976. *Logfia*. pp. 123-124. In Tutin et al. (eds). Flora
Europaea. Plantaginaceae to Compositae. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge. 505 pp.

Holm, L., D. Plucknett, J. Pancho, and J. Herberger. 1977. The world's
worst weeds: distribution and ecology. University Press of Hawaii,
Honolulu. 609 pp.

Jepson, W. 1925. A manual of the flowering plants of California.
University of California, Berkeley. 1238 pp.

Junak, S., S. Chaney, R. Philbrick, and R. Clark. 1997. A checklist of
vascular plants of Channel Islands National Park. Southwest Parks and
Monuments Association, Tucson, AZ. 43 pp.

Lorenzi, H. and L. Jeffery. 1987. Weeds of the United States and their
control. Van Nostrand Company, New York. 355 pp.

Morefield, J. 1993. Cotula. pp. 266-268. In Hickman, J. (ed.). The
Jepson Manual: higher plants of California. University of California
Press, Berkeley. 1400 pp.

Munz, P. 1959. A flora of California. University of California Press,
Berkeley. 1681 pp.

Proctor, M., P. Yeo, and A. Lack. 1996. The Natural History of
Pollination. Timber Press, Portalnd Oregon. 497 pp.

Richards, A. 1978. The pollination of flowers by insects. Linnean
Society Symposium Series 6: 1-213. Academic Press, London.

Robbins, W. 1940. Alien plants growing without cultivation in
California. Agricult ural Experiment Station. Bulletin 637. University
of California, Berkeley. 128 pp.

Robbins, W., M. Bellue, and W. Ball. 1970. Weeds of California.
Documents and Publications, Sacramento, California. 547 pp.

Sheldon, J. and F. Burrows. 1973. The dispersal effectiveness of the
achene-pappus units of selected Compositae in steady winds with
convection. New Phytologist 72: 665-675.

Wagner, W., D. Herbst, and S. Sohmer. 1990. Manual of the flowering
plants of Hawaii. 1853 pp.

Webb, C., W. Sykes, and P. Garnock-Jones. 1988 . Flora of New Zealand.
Volume 4. Naturalized pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons.
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Christchurch. 1365 pp.