Calotis

Purple burr-daisy Calotis cuneifolia, copyright Melburnian.

Belongs within: Astereae.

Calotis is a genus of composite-flowered herbs mostly found in Australia with a small number of species in Asia. Some species, such as C. cuneifolia and C. kempei, bear a pappus of flat, truncate scales alternating with awns; other species bear a pappus of awns only (Black & Robertson 1965).

Characters (from Black & Robertson 1965): Herbs with alternate leaves; fruiting heads usually globular and burr-like. Involucre mostly hemispherical, the bracts in about two rows nearly equal, with scarious margins; receptacle flat or convex, naked; ray-flowers ligulate, female, mostly in one row; disk-flowers tubular, bisexual but usually barren; anthers obtuse at base; style-branches linear in ray-flowers, lanceolate and coarsely papillate in disk-flowers, stigmatic lines only present in fertile florets; achenes compressed, narrowed towards base, sometimes winged; pappus of short awns or bristles, barbellate with reflexed or spreading hairs (barbules), and accompanied sometimes by narrow or broad scales.

<==Calotis
    |--C. ancyrocarpa M99
    |--C. breviradiata [=C. multicaulis var. breviradiata] BR65
    |--C. breviseta LK14
    |--C. cuneifolia M99
    |--C. cymbacantha BR65
    |--C. erinacea [incl. C. erinacea var. biaristata] BR65
    |--C. hispidula BR65
    |--C. inermis M99
    |--C. kempei BR65
    |--C. lappulaceae M99
    |--C. latiuscula M99
    |--C. multicaulis (Turczaninow) Druce 1917 (see below for synonymy) BR65
    |--C. porphyroglossa BR65
    |--C. scabiosifolia M99
    `--C. scapigera BR65

Calotis multicaulis (Turczaninow) Druce 1917 [=Goniopogon multicaule Turczaninow 1851; incl. C. plumulifera von Mueller 1859] BR65

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BR65] Black, J. M., & E. L. Robertson. 1965. Flora of South Australia. Part IV. Oleaceae–Compositae. W. L. Hawes, Government Printer: Adelaide.

[LK14] Lyons, M. N., G. J. Keighery, L. A. Gibson & T. Handasyde. 2014. Flora and vegetation communities of selected islands off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 81: 205–244.

[M99] Matthews, M. 1999. Heliothine Moths of Australia: A guide to bollworms and related noctuid groups. CSIRO Publishing.

Last updated: 25 March 2020.