Interesting Facts
Description
Family Compositae
The largest family of flowering plants , the Compositae (Asteraceae), comprising about 1,100 genera and more than 20,000 species and characterized by many small flowers arranged in a head looking like a single flower and subtended by an involucre of bracts. A head may consist of both ray flowers and disk flowers, as in the sunflower, of disk flowers only, as in the burdock, or of ray flowers only, as in the dandelion.
Genus Filago
Annuals
, (1-) 5-40 cm. Stems [0] 1, ± erect
, or 2-7[-10+], ± ascending
[prostrate
]. Leaves cauline [basal]; alternate; blades
lanceolate to oblanceolate
[spatulate
or ± round
]. Heads in (dense, spheric [hemispheric
]) glomerules
of [2-]8-35+ in ± dichasiiform arrays [borne singly]. Involucres 0 or inconspicuous. Phyllaries usually 0, rarely 1-4, unequal (similar to paleae). Receptacles cylindric
to clavate
(heights
[2-]5-15 times diams.), glabrous
. Pistillate
paleae (except usually innermost) ± persistent
[falling], ± erect to ascending; bodies with 5+ nerves
(nerves ± parallel, obscure
), lanceolate to ovate
, open to ± folded (each at most enfolding, not enclosing a floret) ; wings
erect to recurved (apices acuminate to aristate
). Innermost paleae usually all pistillate, in some species bisexual
and pistillate, persistent or tardily falling, usually 5, erect to ascending [spreading
] (scarcely enlarged) in fruit, shorter than other pistillate paleae; bodies lanceolate to ovate. Pistillate florets [12-]27-40+. Functionally staminate
florets 0. Bisexual florets (1-) 2-9(-11) ; corolla lobes
4, ± equal. Cypselae brown, ± monomorphic
: terete
to ± compressed
, cylindric to ± obovoid
, usually straight, not gibbous
, faces
papillate
to muricate
[glabrous, smooth
], dull
; corolla scars
apical [subapical
]; pappi: outer pistillate 0, inner pistillate and bisexual of [3-]13-21 bristles
(visible in heads
). x = 14.
Species 12(-23) : introduced
; Europe, w Asia, n Africa, Atlantic Islands, introduced in North America, Australia.
The name
Filago has been used also for the genus now usually recognized as Evax Gaertner. Here Filago, in the narrow sense, contains twelve Old World species. Six species long included
in Filago in North America are here separated as Logfia.
Filago species grow in open, dry or somewhat moist habitats
of arid
, semiarid, Mediterranean, and humid-temperate to subtropical
climates. The species in the flora
grow in disturbed
habitats; neither appears to be aggressively weedy.[1]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- Class:
Spermatopsida
()
- Brongniart, 1843
- Subclass:
Asteridae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Campanulanae
()
- Takhtajan Ex Reveal, 1992
- Order:
Asterales
()
- Lindley, 1833
- Family:
Compositae
()
- Giseke, 1792, nom. cons., nom. alt.
- Subfamily:
Asteroideae
()
- Tribe:
Gnaphalieae
()
- Subtribe:
Gnaphaliinae
()
- Genus:
Filago
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1753
- Herba impia [Latin filum, thread, and -ago, possessing or resembling, alluding to abundant cottony indument]
- Specific epithet:
mixta
- Holuby
- Botanical name: - Filago mixta Holuby
- Specific epithet:
mixta
- Holuby
- Genus:
Filago
(
- Subtribe:
Gnaphaliinae
(
- Tribe:
Gnaphalieae
(
- Subfamily:
Asteroideae
(
- Family:
Compositae
(
- Order:
Asterales
(
- Superorder:
Campanulanae
(
- Subclass:
Asteridae
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Similar Species
Members of the genus Filago
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 5 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
F. arizonica (Arizona Cottonrose) · F. californica (California Cottonrose) · F. depressa (Dwarf Cottonrose) · F. pyramidata (Broadleaf Cottonrose) · F. vulgaris (Burrdaisytree)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- The natural history of plants, their forms, growth, reproduction, and distribution; Dublin, Blackie & son, limited, 1902. url .
- The natural history of plants; their forms, growth, reproduction, and distribution. From the German of Anton Kerner von Marilaun, by F.W. Oliver, with the assistance of Marian Busk and Mary F. Ewart. with about 2000 original woodcut illustrations and sixteen plates in colours. London, Blackie, 1896-1897. url p. 585, p. 948.
- Wagenitz, G. 1969. Abgrenzung und Gliederung der Gattung Filago L. s.l. (Compositae-Inuleae). Willdenowia 5: 395-444.
- Wagenitz, G. 1976. Two species of the "Filago germanica" group (Compositae-Inuleae) in the United States. Sida 6: 221-223.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 11, 2012.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 10532826
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15136651
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 3066895
Footnotes
- James D. Morefield "Filago". in Flora of North America Vol. 19, 20 and 21 Page 26, 28, 385, 387, 444, 447, 448, 461. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
