Schkuhria pinnata | |
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View from above | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Schkuhria |
Species: | S. pinnata
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Binomial name | |
Schkuhria pinnata (Lam.) Kuntze ex Thell.
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Synonyms | |
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Schkuhria pinnata, the canchalagua or dwarf Mexican marigold, is a small, dainty, pioneer annual herb of the family Asteraceae and widespread in the tropics. It is regarded as a naturalised weed with low ecological impact.
Reaching 30–60 cm in height, this species is found as a pioneer on disturbed ground such as roadsides and ploughed lands. Leaves are mainly pinnatisect, with the upper leaves simple and filiform. The upper leaf surface is narrowly grooved, while both leaf surfaces are pitted with numerous small glands. Its capitula are numerous, terminal and small, with a solitary ray floret, its ligule 1.5–2 mm long and yellow, and 4-6 disc florets. Corollas are yellow to white sometimes with a purple tinge. Bracts are obovate, with a hyaline apex, while margins are minutely ciliate and glandular-punctate. Achenes are narrow-turbinate, 4-angled and some 4 mm long; there are 8 membranous pappus scales, darkly striated at apex.[citation needed]
The plant is native to South America, normally found in drier mountainous regions of 2000 – 3000 meters in elevation, and growing abundantly in the inter-Andean valleys. It is currently found in Latin America, Mexico, Africa, and in the southern United States.[1]