Annuals or perennials, mostly 50–150+ cm (often rhizomatous). Leaves all or mostly cauline; opposite; petiolate; blades (pinnately nerved) deltate or rounded-rhombic to cordate or ovate, often raggedly pinnately lobed, ultimate margins coarsely toothed to denticulate or entire, faces pilose or pilosulous to hirtellous, or glabrate, or glabrous, usually glanddotted and/or stipitate-glandular. Heads usually radiate (rarely, laminae reduced, heads technically ± disciform), (2–5+) in loose to congested, corymbiform arrays. Calyculi 0. Involucres hemispheric. Phyllaries persistent, 6–21+ in 2 series (distinct, outer 2–6 ovate to linear, ± herbaceous, inner ovate to lanceolate, subequal to or shorter than outer, more scarious, similar to paleae). Receptacles flat to convex, paleate (paleae obovate to oblanceolate or spatulate, herbaceous to scarious). Ray-florets 2–6, pistillate, fertile; corollas pale yellowish to whitish. Disc-florets 12–30+, functionally staminate; corollas pale-yellow, tubes shorter than abruptly dilated throats, lobes 5, deltate to lanceovate; anther thecae pale; stigmatic papillae 0. Cypselae plumply pyriform, ± obcompressed, 3–6-angled or ribbed, finely striate between ribs, sparsely hirtellous or glabrate; pappi 0.

Distribution

c, e North America

Discussion

Genus 1, species 3 (3 species in the flora).

Traditionally, Polymnia has been included in Melampodiinae. It was treated at tribal rank, as Polymnieae (H. Robinson) Panero, by J. L. Panero and V. A. Funk (2002).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Polymnia