Asteraceae

Melanthera Rohr

First published in Skr. Naturhist.-Selsk. 2(1): 213 (1792)
This genus is accepted
The native range of this genus is Japan to Taiwan, SW. Pacific, Tropical & Subtropical America.

Descriptions

George R. Proctor (2012). Flora of the Cayman Isands (Second Edition). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Morphology General Habit
Perennial herbs or undershrubs; leaves opposite, simple but toothed or sometimes hastate-lobed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Heads solitary or rarely paired on long terminal or axillary peduncles, discoid (in our species) with all the florets perfect and fertile, or radiate, the ray-florets pistillate or neuter, and the disc-florets perfect
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Involucre
Involucre hemispheric, the phyllaries in 2–3 series; receptacle convex, scaly, the scales concave
Disc
Disc-florets tubular, 5-lobed; anthers black, obtuse or minutely sagittulate at the base; style-arms with an acute, hairy appendage
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes more or less 3-angled; pappus of 2–4 stiff, ciliate, awn-like bristles, these soon falling, absent from the achenes of ray-florets.
Distribution
A genus of about 50 species in tropical America and Africa.
[Cayman]

Compositae, H. Beentje, C. Jeffrey & D.J.N. Hind. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2005

Morphology General Habit
Annual or perennial herbs, sometimes scandent
Morphology Leaves
Leaves opposite, usually scabrid
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
Capitula solitary or in lax cymes, shallowly hemispheric, sometimes becoming globose in fruit (in M. scandens), radiate (in Africa); involucre 2–3-seriate, the inner scarious and sheathing the achenes; receptacle paleate, the paleae enveloping the disc florets and usually obovate with ciliate upper margins
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Ray florets conspicuous, style in these florets present or absent; disc florets tubular or nearly so, narrowed proximally; style branches narrowing to an acute apex or thickened just below the apex
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes obovoid or obconical, compressed to 3-angled; pappus of 0–12 often unequal bristles, ?deciduous or fragile.
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of the Cayman Islands

    • Flora of the Cayman Islands
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • World Checklist of Vascular plants (WCVP)

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0