Afrocirsium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Afrocirsium | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Subfamily: | Carduoideae |
| Tribe: | Cardueae |
| Subtribe: | Carduinae |
| Genus: | Afrocirsium Calleja, N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna (2023) |
| Type species | |
| Afrocirsium schimperi (Vatke) Calleja, N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna[1] | |
| Species[2] | |
| |
Afrocirsium is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae. It includes three species of thistles native to the mountains of eastern tropical Africa.[2]
They are spiny perennial herbs growing 0.5 to 2.5 meters tall. They have the plumose pappus characteristic of genus Cirsium, but have distinct characteristics like phyllaries with well-developed pectinate appendages which are not present in Cirsium and the other genera in the Carduus-Cirsium group.[1]
All are native to Afromontane or Afroalpine regions of eastern tropical Africa between 1,600 and 4,600 meters elevation,[1] ranging from South Sudan and Ethiopia to Zambia.[2]
The species now placed in genus Afrocirsium were previously placed in genus Cirsium. The sub-Saharan African species have morphological and karyological features of genera Carduus and Cirsium. A phylogenetic study by Moreyra et al. concluded that these African species formed a clade distinct from Carduus and Cirsium, and sister to the newly described genus Afrocarduus.[1]