Cassinia

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Cassinia
Cassinia trinerva
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Gnaphalieae
Genus: Cassinia
R.Br. nom. cons.[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Achromolaena Cass. nom. alt.
  • Chromochiton Cass.
  • Helichrysum sect. Cassinia (R.Br.) Baill.
Cough bush (Cassinia laevis), Northern Tablelands, NSW

Cassinia is a genus of about fifty-two species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae that are native to Australia and New Zealand. Plants in the genus Cassinia are shrubs, sometimes small trees with leaves arranged alternately, and heads of white, cream-coloured, yellow or pinkish flowers surrounded by several rows of bracts.

Description[edit]

Plants in the genus Cassinia are shrubs or small trees, sometimes with sticky foliage. The leaves are arranged alternately, the edges flat to strongly rolled under, and the flowers white to cream-coloured, yellow or pinkish, arranged in heads, the heads in cylindrical, top-shaped or bell-shaped corymbs. The heads are surrounded by several rows of usually erect, boat-shaped bracts. The florets are bisexual and cylindrical with five lobes and the cypselas are small and usually have a pappus of bristles.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy[edit]

The genus Cassinia was first formally described in 1817 by Robert Brown in his book Observations on the Natural Family of Plants called Compositae.[5][6] Brown had previously used the name Cassinia in the second edition of the Hortus Kewensis but the name was not validly published because no species was described.[7][8]

The genus was named for French botanist Alexandre de Cassini.[9]

Species list[edit]

The following is a list of species accepted by Plants of the World Online as of May 2021:[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Cassinia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Cassinia". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Genus Cassinia". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Cassinia". State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Cassinia". APNI. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  6. ^ Brown, Robert (1817). Observations on the Natural Family of Plants called Compositae. London. p. 126. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Cassinia nom. rej". APNI. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  8. ^ Brown, Robert (1813). "Cassinia". Hortus Kewensis. 5 (2 ed.): 184–185. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  9. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 67. ISBN 9780958034180.
  10. ^ "Cassinia". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  • Media related to Cassinia at Wikimedia Commons