Gomphrena
Sp. Pl. 1: 224. 1753.
Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 105. 1754.
| Taxon | Illustrator ⠉ | |
|---|---|---|
 | Gomphrena caespitosa Gomphrena nealleyi Gomphrena haageana | Yevonn Wilson-Ramsey Yevonn Wilson-Ramsey Yevonn Wilson-Ramsey |
Herbs, annual or perennial. Stems ascending, decumbent, prostrate, or erect. Leaves opposite, sessile or petiolate; blade ovate to obovate, not fleshy, margins entire, long-pilose abaxially and sometimes adaxially. Inflorescences terminal and/or axillary, sessile, subglobose heads, often subtended by involucres of sessile leaves; bracts and bracteoles thin. Flowers bisexual; tepals 5, connate proximally; stamens 5; filaments connate basally into tube; pseudostaminodes absent; ovule 1; style 1, 1.5–4 mm; stigmas 2 (–3), subulate or filiform. Utricles included in tepals, stramineous, ovoid or oblong, somewhat compressed, membranous, usually indehiscent. Seeds 1, lenticular, subglobose, to ovoid, smooth.
Distribution
Tropical, subtropical, and warm-temperate regions
Discussion
Species ca. 100 (9 in the flora).
Selected References
Lower Taxa
Key
| 1 | Bractlets not cristate | > 2 |
| 1 | Bractlets cristate along keel | > 5 |
| 2 | Plants cespitose 3-15 cm; stems with 1-2 pairs of leaves | > 3 |
| 2 | Plants not cespitose, 4-60 cm; each stem bearing numerous leaves | > 4 |
| 3 | Leaf blades green, very sparsely villose, glabrate; blades of cauline leaves longer than broad | Gomphrena viridis |
| 3 | Leaf blades gray, densely villose; blades of cauline leaves as broad as long | Gomphrena caespitosa |
| 4 | Flower tubes glabrous; inflorescence heads not subtended by 2 leaves | Gomphrena martiana |
| 4 | Flower tubes lanose proximally; inflorescence heads subtended by 2 leaves | Gomphrena sonorae |
| 5 | Roots fleshy, fusiform; plants perennial | > 6 |
| 5 | Roots fibrous; plants annual or sometimes perennial (G. serrata) | > 7 |
| 6 | Leaf blades 1.5-4 cm, apex rounded; perianth 4.5-4.7 mm | Gomphrena nealleyi |
| 6 | Leaf blades 3-10 cm, apex acute to acuminate; perianth ca. 5.3 mm | Gomphrena haageana |
| 7 | Inflorescence heads 20-28 mm diam | Gomphrena globosa |
| 7 | Inflorescence heads 8-16 mm diam | > 8 |
| 8 | Bractlets with denticulate crests; inflorescence heads 9-13 mm diam., usually tinged with red or pink; stems usually decumbent | Gomphrena serrata |
| 8 | Bractlets with laciniate crests; inflorescence heads 12-16 mm diam, yellowish white, rarely reddish; stems usually erect | Gomphrena nitida |
"thin" is not a number."thin" is not a number.