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This genus is accepted, and its native range is Old World.

[FZ]

Compositae, G. V. Pope. Flora Zambesiaca 6:1. 1992

Morphology General Habit
Annual perennial or biennial herbs (spiny subshrubs), glabrous, with or without stems, sometimes caespitose, occasionally stoloniferous.
Morphology Stem
Stems or flowering stalks 1-several, branching above or simple.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves cauline and alternate, or radical and rosulate, entire or sinuate-dentate to runcinate-pinnatipartite, often acicular-denticulate on the margins.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
Capitula few to numerous, subsessile or shortly stalked, often in lax irregular corymbs, sometimes solitary, or in clusters along the branches.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Receptacle
Receptacle epaleate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Involucre
Involucres narrowly cylindric-campanulate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Phyllaries
Phyllaries 2-several-seriate, becoming ± swollen and corky towards the base; the innermost subequal, usually greatly exceeding the outer.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Florets few to many, yellow, or the ligule sometimes purplish or red outside; anthers sagittate at the base with the auricles shortly setaceous-acuminate; style branches long slender, sweeping hairs long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes pale-brown to black, subterete or somewhat angular, or compressed, sometimes apically attenuate or beaked, ribbed; ribs 5-many, uniformly narrow or somewhat inflated, smooth or muricate, glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Pappus many-seriate, of setae only or of setae intermixed with numerous down-like hairs.

[FSOM]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Annual to perennial herbs, subshrubs or shrublets, sometimes spinescent, with white latex, chiefly glabrous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Flowering stems terminating in synflorescences with few to many capitula Capitula c. 8–45-flowered; involucre slender, phyllaries mostly with distinct scarious margin, in a few outer series and an inner series of distinctly longer, equal, linear-lanceolate ones; receptacle naked
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Florets all ligulate, 5-toothed, bisexual, of some shade of yellow; anthers with sagittate basal and rounded apical appendages
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes homomorphic or heteromorphic, usually slender, c. 2–6 mm long, cylindric to subfusiform, the marginal somewhat curved and flattened; pappus persistent or deciduous, either of ± numerous uniform bristles or of ± numerous outer downy hairs and fewer inner bristles; bristles and hairs scabrid.
Distribution
Genus of 55 species mainly in Africa and south-western to southern and central Asia, six in Mediterranean Europe, one each in western Australia and, introduced, in the New World (Caribbean and adjacent regions).

[FTEA]

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

Morphology General Habit
Herbs or spiny sub-shrubs, sometimes acaulescent, sometimes scapose; stems simple or branched, glabrous
Morphology Leaves
Leaves in a rosette or cauline, entire to pinnatipartite
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
Capitula subsessile or shortly stalked, in lax irregular corymbs, or in clusters along the branches; involucre cylindric becoming campanulate; phyllaries in few series, the outermost smallest, becoming swollen and corky, often with scarious margins; receptacle epaleate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Florets few to many; anthers sagittate; style branches with long sweeping hairs
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes cylindric or fusiform, sometimes beaked, ribbed, usually dimorphic with the outer darker and rugose, the inner pale and smooth; pappus of setae only, or of mixed setae and downy hairs.

[FTEA]

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

Morphology General Habit
Perennial herb
Morphology Leaves
Leaves alternate, in a rosette
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
Capitula sessile, rather large, solitary or few
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Florets with short ligules
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes slightly compressed, ribbed, without a beak; pappus of barbellate bristles in more than 1 series, the outermost thickest.

Native to:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Andaman Is., Angola, Assam, Baleares, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Central African Repu, Chad, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Comoros, Congo, Cyprus, Djibouti, East Himalaya, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Gulf States, Hainan, India, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jawa, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, KwaZulu-Natal, Laccadive Is., Laos, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Madagascar, Madeira, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicobar Is., Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sicilia, Sierra Leone, Sinai, Socotra, Somalia, South China Sea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Tadzhikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Western Australia, Western Sahara, Xinjiang, Yemen, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

Introduced into:

Aruba, Bahamas, Belize, Cayman Is., Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Florida, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Marianas, Mauritius, Mexico Southeast, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Peru, Puerto Rico, Réunion, Seychelles, Suriname, Texas, Transcaucasus, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles

Launaea Cass. appears in other Kew resources:

First published in Dict. Sci. Nat., ed. 2. 25: 321 (1822)

Accepted by

  • Roskov Y. & al. (eds.) (2018). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands.

Literature

Flora of West Tropical Africa

  • —F.T.A. 3: 460.

Flora Zambesiaca

  • C. Jeffrey in Kew Bull. 18: 463–477 (1966).
  • in Dict. Sci. Nat. 25: 321 (1822).

Flora of Somalia

  • Flora Somalia, (2000) Author: by N. Kilian [updated by M. Thulin 2008]
  • Kilian in Englera 17: 1–478 (1997).

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • N. Kilian in Englera 17: 1–478 (1997)
  • K. Bremer, Asteraceae Clad. & Class.: 188 (1994)
  • C. Jeffrey in K.B. 18: 463 (1966)
  • in Dict. Sci. Nat. 25: 321 (1822)

Flora Zambesiaca
Flora Zambesiaca
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Flora of Somalia
Flora of Somalia
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

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

Kew Backbone Distributions
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0