Erechtites

Erechtites is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family known commonly as fireweeds or burnweeds. They are native to the Americas and Australia,[3][4] but some species are widely distributed weeds.[3][5][6]

Erechtites
Erechtites hieraciifolius
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
Asterales
Family:
Asteraceae
Tribe:
Senecioneae
Genus:
Erechtites

Raf.
Type species
Erechtites praealtus Raf.,
syn of E. hieraciifolius[1][2]
Synonyms[2]
  • Senecio sect. Erechtites (Raf.) Baill.

Some species in this genus are treated as members of Senecio by some authors, and several other species are considered variants of Erechtites hieraciifolius, so there may be as few as 5 distinct species in this genus. In particular, not all authors agree on whether to include a dozen or so species native to Australia and New Zealand in Erechtites.[7][8] For the purposes of the list below, we follow the lead of The Plant List maintained by Kew Gardens in London.[1]

Erechtites consists of annual or perennial herbs with large taproots and very often with a pungent odor. Leaves are usually ovate or lanceolate (sometimes pinnately lobed or pinnatifid). Flower heads may sometimes contain as many as 100 yellow or white (rarely pink) disc florets but no ray florets.[3]

Species[1]

The genus name Erechtites is considered masculine by some botanists and feminine by others. Hence some species names may end in "-us" or "-a," for example, Erechtites valerianifolius versus E. valerianifolia. International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Art. 62.4) specifies that generic names ending in "-ites" are to be treated as masculine, hence the "-us" ending in such cases is to be preferred over the "-a" ending.[3][13]

References
  1. The Plant List search for Erechtites
  2. Tropicos, Erechtites Raf.
  3. "Erechtites Rafinesque". Flora of North America.
  4. Coleman, M.; Liston, A.; Kadereit, J. W.; Abbott, R. J. (2003). "Repeat intercontinental dispersal and Pleistocene speciation in disjunct Mediterranean and desert Senecio (Asteraceae)". American Journal of Botany. 90 (10): 1446–54. doi:10.3732/ajb.90.10.1446. PMID 21659096.
  5. "Erechtites hieraciifolius (L.) Raf. ex DC". Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER).
  6. "Erechtites valerianifolia (Wolf) DC". Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER).
  7. Erechtites Hieracifolia. Fireweed., Drugs and Medicines of North America, 1884-1887 by John Uri Lloyd and Curtis G. Lloyd. Online edition by Henriette Kress, 2002-2009
  8. Jepson Manual Treatment
  9. Atlas of Living Australia, Senecio glomeratus Desf. ex Poir., Cluster-headed Fireweed
  10. Biota of North America Program, Senecio hieraciifolius
  11. Flora of China, 梁子菜 liang zi cai Erechtites hieraciifolius (Linnaeus) Rafinesque ex Candolle
  12. Atlas of Living Australia, Senecio minimus Poir., Toothed Fireweed
  13. International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code) article 62.4


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