Sphaeranthus africanus L.

First published in Sp. Pl., ed. 2.: 1314 (1763)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Kenya to Mozambique, Madagascar, Tropical & Subtropical Asia. It is an annual and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/176878/188794550

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

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

Morphology General Habit
Herb 0.5–1 m high; stems simple or branched, the branches winged; wings entire or denticulate, glabrous or pubescent.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves narrowly elliptic or obovate, 2–10 cm long, 0.8–3.2 cm wide, but lower stem leaves may grow to 15 cm long and 5 cm wide, base decurrent into the wings, margins subentire or denticulate, apex rounded to subacute, pubescent to almost glabrous, glandular and slightly aromatic.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Glomerule greenish white, ellipsoid to globose, 7–13 mm long, 7–13 mm across, occasionally double, the individual capitula distinct; capitulum stalk 5–30 mm long; receptacle globose to ellipsoid; glomerule bracts linear to lanceolate and 2.5–4 mm long, 0.3 mm wide, acute to acuminate, glandular-puberulous, the lowermost bracts hidden at anthesis; capitula borne on a short secondary receptacle, with 6–15 bracts, these oblanceolate, 1.5–3 mm long, apiculate to rounded, sparsely glandular.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Florets:outer florets 15–40, tube ovoid to broadly cylindrical and corky, abruptly narrowed into a filiform tube, 0.7–0.9 mm long, glabrous, minutely toothed distally, style 0.8–1 mm long; inner florets 1–3, tube inflated and corky but abruptly constricted below the lobes and there sparsely glandular, 0.7–1 mm long, lobes 0.3–0.5 mm long, sparsely glandular, anthers 0.6–0.8 mm long, style 1.7–2.8 mm long, briefly bifid.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes cylindrical, 0.4–0.6 mm long, puberulous and glandular, briefly stalked on a white glabrous stipe.
Habitat
Stream or pond margins, moist sites; 1–450 m
Distribution
K7 P T3 T6 T8 Z southern Asia and Australia
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

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

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images