8955.000 Sphaeranthus L.

Wild, H. (1980) The Compositae of the Flora Zambesiaca area, 12. Inuleae (continued). Kirkia 12(1) 23-113

Description of the genus

Annual or perennial herbs, usually aromatic and glandular. Leaves alternate. Capitula heterogamous, few-flowered, arranged on a receptacle in dense hemispheric, ovoid or spherical clusters, which are terminal on the stems and branches or in the axils of the leaves. Tips of the bracts of the clusters and the bisexual florets usually purple. Subtending bracts of the capitula 2-4(-15), sometimes forming a basal involucre. Bisexual florets in the centre of the capitulum, fewer than the outer female florets. Achenes ± cylindric or ellipsoid.

In this genus, the apparent capitulum is in fact a cluster of capitula. Note - a similar purple-flowered species with winged stems usually growing in marshy places is Epaltes gariepina.

Worldwide: 38 species in the Old World tropics, extending Iran and Egypt

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Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
africanus L.?
angolensis O. Hoffm.N,Z,T,MSDescription
flexuosus O. Hoffm.NDescription, Image
foliosus Ross-CraigMS
gazaensis Bremek.Z,MS,GI,MDescription, Image
peduncularis DC. subsp. peduncularis MS,GI,M
randii S. Moore var. randii NDescription, Image
suaveolens (Forssk.) DC. var. suaveolens T
ukambensis Vatke & O. Hoffm.N

Other sources of information about Sphaeranthus:

Flora of Zimbabwe: Sphaeranthus
ePIC (electronic Plant Information Center): Sphaeranthus
Flora Zambesiaca web site: Sphaeranthus
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
GRIN (Germplasm Resources Information Network) taxonomy for plants report for Sphaeranthus
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Sphaeranthus
Kew Herbarium catalogue: Sphaeranthus

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Stefaan Dondeyne 2007-13

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Dondeyne, S. (2013). Flora of Mozambique: Genus page: Sphaeranthus.
http://www.mozambiqueflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=1491, retrieved 24 May 2013

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