Asteraceae
Sphaeranthus

Sphaeranthus spathulatus Peter

First published in Abh. Königl. Ges. Wiss. Göttingen, Math.-Phys. Kl., n.f., 13(2): 27, 9 (1928)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tanzania (incl. Zanzibar). It grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Annual herb 5–20 cm high, branched from the base, the proximal part of the stem decumbent and rooting; branches not winged, glabrous or nearly so.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves spatulate, 1.5–6 cm long, 0.5–2 cm wide, base long attenuate, margins denticulate, apex rounded to acute, glabrous, sparsely glandular beneath.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Glomerules sessile, ovoid, 5–10 mm long, 4–6 mm in diameter, the glomerule bracts covering the wholeglomerule and making it look like a conifer cone; receptacle cylindrical to ellipsoid; bracts mauve to pink distally, ovate to lanceolate, 2–4.5 mm long, acuminate with a spinulose acumen, the tips spreading; capitula sessile; capitulum bracts 4, distally mauve, 1.5–2 mm long, distally erose, scarious and glabrous, the laterals folded.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Florets 3–5; outer florets 2–4, cylindrical to slightly conical, tube 0.3–0.5 mm long, lobes minute, style 0.6–0.7 mm long, bifid; inner floret 1, tube broadly cylindrical, 0.5–0.7 mm long, lobes 0.3 mm long, anthers 0.3–0.4 mm long, style 1–1.3 mm long, briefly notched.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes cylindrical, 0.6–0.7 mm long, puberulous.
Habitat
Bordering temporary pools, ponds and streams, also in rice fields; may be locally common; 1–250 m
Distribution
T3 T6 T8 Z not known elsewhere
[FTEA]

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: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/158084/760134

Conservation
NT - near threatened
[IUCN]

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