Calliopsis creates a colorful tangle of attractive flowers
balanced atop wirey stems that sway at the slightest hint of
breeze. Click here to download a large version (800x600) of this
image. Most of the tickseeds (genus Coreopsis) are perennials,
but calliopsis is an annual. Growing 2-4 ft (60-120 cm) in
height, calliopsis has opposite leaves, 2-4 in (5-10 cm) long,
which usually are dissected into linear segments. The stems are
stiff and wiry with numerous angled branches. The showy
flowerheads are about 2 in (5 cm) across with purple discs and
usually eight golden yellow rays. Several garden cultivars have
been named, including dwarf forms, some with double flowers, and
others with ray florets in various shades of maroon, bronze,
orange, and red. Location Coreopsis tinctoria is native to the
American Great Plains from Minnesota and Nebraska south to Texas
and Louisiana. Wild populations can be found on roadsides and in
abandoned fields. Calliopsis is a fast growing, carefree annual
that should thrive in al