Lagascea
Encyclopedia
Lagascea is a genus
of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae
. It includes 8 species that occur primarily in Mexico, but some extend into Central America and one reaches north into the western U.S.A. One species, L. mollis, has been widely introduced to other localities around the tropics and subtropics. Lagascea is a member of the same subtribe Helianthinae as the common sunflower, Helianthus annuus, but it looks different because it has heads that are reduced to have 1 (or 2) flowers, and are clustered into compound units that mimic heads and are sometimes called syncephalia . The relationships of Lagascea are not well established, but the published work from molecular phylogenetic studies places it as the sister genus to Tithonia . Two of the species are herbs, distinguished from each other by features of the heads, and the remaining species are shrubs and are distinguished primarily by vegetative features. The genus is named after the Spanish botanist Mariano Lagasca
(1776-1839).
Species include:
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
. It includes 8 species that occur primarily in Mexico, but some extend into Central America and one reaches north into the western U.S.A. One species, L. mollis, has been widely introduced to other localities around the tropics and subtropics. Lagascea is a member of the same subtribe Helianthinae as the common sunflower, Helianthus annuus, but it looks different because it has heads that are reduced to have 1 (or 2) flowers, and are clustered into compound units that mimic heads and are sometimes called syncephalia . The relationships of Lagascea are not well established, but the published work from molecular phylogenetic studies places it as the sister genus to Tithonia . Two of the species are herbs, distinguished from each other by features of the heads, and the remaining species are shrubs and are distinguished primarily by vegetative features. The genus is named after the Spanish botanist Mariano Lagasca
Mariano Lagasca
Mariano la Gasca y Segura was a Spanish botanist, writer and doctor. He was the director of Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid.- Early life :...
(1776-1839).
Species include:
- Lagascea aurea Stuessy
- Lagascea agustifolia D.C.
- Lagascea decipiens Hemsl.
- Lagascea helianthifolia H.B.K.
- Lagascea heteropappus Hemsl.
- Lagascea mollis Cav.
- Lagascea palmeri (B. Rob.) B. Rob.
- Lagascea rigida (Cav.) Stuessy