Melanthera

Melanthera
Melanthera biflora
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Subtribe: Ecliptinae
Genus: Melanthera
Rohr[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Echinocephalum Gardner
  • Melananthera Michx.

Melanthera (common name: squarestem),[3] is a genus of perennial[4] flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to North and South America, as well as Africa, Asia and Oceania, including Hawaiʻi.[5][6][7][8][9]

The most common species of this genus is Melanthera biflora, found in the coastal areas and islands of the tropical belt of the Indo-Pacific region.[10] Together with Portulaca oleracea, Ipomoea pes-caprae and Digitaria ciliaris, Melanthera biflora is usually one of the first species colonizing degraded or altered environments in tropical zones of the planet.[11]

Despite their general hardiness, leaves of Melanthera species are often attacked by rusts such as Uromyces columbianus and Uromyces martinii.[12]

  1. ^ "Genus: Melanthera Rohr". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 1996-09-17. Archived from the original on 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  2. ^ "Melanthera Rohr". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  3. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Melanthera​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  4. ^ Flora of North America Vol. 21 Page 123 Melanthera Rohr, Skr. Naturhist.-Selsk. 2: 213. 1792.
  5. ^ Rohr, Julius Philip Benjamin von. 1792. Skrifter af Naturhistorie-Selskabet 2(1): 213–214
  6. ^ Davidse, G., M. Sousa-Peña, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera. 2015. Asteraceae. 5(2): ined. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera (eds.) Flora Mesoamericana. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F.
  7. ^ Parks, J. C. 1973. A revision of North American and Caribbean Melanthera (Compositae). Rhodora 75: 169–210.
  8. ^ Pruski, J.F. 1997. Asteraceae. 3: 177–393. In J. A. Steyermark, P. E. Berry & B. K. Holst (eds.) Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis
  9. ^ Wild, H. 1965. The African species of the genus Melanthera Rohr. Kirkia 5: 1–17
  10. ^ Response of Melanthera biflora to Salinity and Water Stress[dead link]
  11. ^ Heatwole, H., Done, T., Cameron, E. Community Ecology of a Coral Cay, A Study of One-Tree Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Series: Monographiae Biologicae, Vol. 43, p. 102
  12. ^ George Baker Cummins (1978). Rust Fungi on Legumes and Composites in North America. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0-8165-0653-1.