Angianthus microcephalus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Angianthus microcephalus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Angianthus |
| Species: | A. microcephalus |
| Binomial name | |
| Angianthus microcephalus | |
Angianthus microcephalus, commonly known as small-headed angianthus,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, and is endemic to the far west of Western Australia. It is a low-lying or ascending annual herb with succulent, narrowly elliptic or more or less linear leaves, broadly oval to very broadly oval compound heads of 10 to 40 yellow flowers, and oval achenes with a scaly pappus.
Angianthus microcephalus is a low-lying or ascending annual herb with stems 60–100 mm (2.4–3.9 in) long and sometimes hairy. The leaves are succulent, narrowly elliptic to more or less linear, 3–10 mm (0.12–0.39 in) long and about 1 mm (0.039 in) wide. The flowers are yellow and borne in broadly oval to very broadly oval compound heads of 10 to 40 pseudanthia, the heads 3.5–6 mm (0.14–0.24 in) long and 3.5–5 mm (0.14–0.20 in) in diameter. There are two concave bracts about 1.7–2 mm (0.067–0.079 in) long at the base of the pseudanthia. Flowering occurs from September to December, and the achenes are oval, about 0.45–0.6 mm (0.018–0.024 in) long and 0.2 mm (0.0079 in) wide with a pappus of two or three egg-shaped scales.[3][2]
Taxonomy
This species was first formally described in 1863 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Cephalosorus microcephalus from specimens collected near the Murchison River by Augustus Oldfield.[4][5] In 1867, George Bentham transferred the species to Angianthus as A. microcephalus in his Flora Australiensis.[6] The specific epithet (microcephalus) means 'small-headed'.[7]