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This species is accepted, and its native range is Tanzania to S. Tropical Africa.
A specimen from Kew's Herbarium

[FZ]

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

Morphology General Habit
A perennial herb, usually acaulescent, from a woody rootstock; roots numerous spreading thong-like.
Morphology Stem
Stems sometimes developed but abbreviated, erect to c. 5 cm. tall, simple or with a few short branches, and with 1–3 persistent leaf bases.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves few to numerous, prostrate discolorous subsessile, 6–20 x 1.5–12 cm., oblong-elliptic, oblanceolate-elliptic or ± orbicular, rounded and somewhat cuspidate at the apex or obtuse, broadly cuneate below narrowing to a winged midrib up to c. 2 cm. long, somewhat stem-clasping at the base, margins sparsely denticulate or serrulate, slightly revolute, green and glabrous on upper surface, white araneose-sericeous beneath (the indumentum sometimes peeling off), strongly 5(7)-nerved from the base, venation finely reticulate and prominent on both surfaces, or obscured by the indumentum beneath.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
Capitula subsessile, 1–7, solitary or densely clustered in the leaf rosette.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Involucre
Involucres mostly 25–36 mm. long, 20–50 mm. in diam. in the upper part, broadly obconic-campanulate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Phyllaries
Phyllaries stiffly slightly diverging, greenish to straw-coloured, chartaceous, sharply ciliolate on upper margins otherwise glabrous, the outermost usually not extending onto the capitulum stalk; the outer phyllaries from c. 7 mm. long and linear-lanceolate, usually somewhat falcate, tapering to a pungent apex; the inner phyllaries to c. 35 mm. long and narrowly lorate-lanceolate, ± scarious-winged in the lower part, inrolled and long-acuminate finely pungent to the apex; innermost phyllaries somewhat shorter, membranous winged and sharply cuspidate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corollas creamy to brownish usually with purplish lobes, 10–13 mm. long, infundibuliform; lobes 5–6.5 mm. long, linear, erect; achenes c. 2 mm. long, narrowly turbinate, densely long-ascending hispid; pappus copious, several seriate of plumose white setae 8–11 mm. long, shorter on the outside, seta bristles 0.5–1 mm. long.

[FTEA]

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

Morphology General Habit
Acaulescent perennial herb.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves all basal, forming a rosette, oblanceolate to obovate to almost round, 4–15 cm long, 1–8(–12.5) cm wide, cuneate into a membranous slightly expanded base, margins minutely serrulate, apex obtuse to rounded, minutely apiculate, dark green and glabrous above, white-tomentose beneath, with 1–2 prominent ascending subbasal veins on each side.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
Capitula 1–4, subsessile, precocious on surface of soil, or in centre of leaf rosette, discoid; involucre 25–32(–40) mm long; phyllaries ± 170, multiseriate, the outer narrowly lanceolate, glabrous, shiny white or pallid with paler membranous, minutely shortly pectinate-ciliate margins, becoming progressively longer and broader-margined inwards, the longest ± 25(–35) mm long, acuminate, pungent, the innermost ± 35 shorter, membranous, lanceolate to oblong, acuminate, rarely tomentellous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Florets ± 40, all tubular, hermaphrodite; corolla yellow, glabrous, 10.5–11 mm long, lobes narrow, 4.5–5.5 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes 3 mm long, densely hirsute with long ascending white or tawny hairs; pappus of numerous plumose bristles, the outer shorter, the inner longer, subequal, 9.5–10 mm long.
Habitat
Grassland, wooded grassland and deciduous woodland; 1050–2450 m
Distribution
T4 T7

Native to:

Angola, Burundi, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Zaïre

Macledium plantaginifolium (O.Hoffm.) S.Ortiz appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
Jan 1, 1970 Welwitsch [3676], Angola Dicoma plantaginifolia K000252253
Rogers, F.A. [8528], Zambia Dicoma plantaginifolia K000252254 Unknown type material
Rogers, F.A. [8528], Zambia Dicoma plantaginifolia K000252255 Unknown type material

First published in Taxon 50: 741 (2001)

Not accepted by

  • Roskov Y. & al. (eds.) (2018). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. [Cited as Dicoma plantaginifolia.]

Flora Zambesiaca
Flora Zambesiaca
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

Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/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