''Aldama'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of flowering plants in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

. The genus was originally described to include one (later two) species of subtribe Helianthinae that were characterized by having pales that tightly enclosed the cypselae (achenes) (see Feddema, 1971). Recent molecular phylogenetic studies (Schilling and Panero 2011) Schilling, E. E. and J. L. Panero. 2011. A revised classification of subtribe Helianthinae (Asteraceae: Heliantheae) II. Derived lineages. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 167: 311-331. showed that these species are within a large group that were formerly classified in the genus ''Viguiera'', and ''Aldama'' has been expanded to include a total of 118 species. ''Aldama'' is characterized by having a perennial herbaceous habit, a pappus usually of awns and scales, and a multiseriate involucre.

References

Asteraceae genera Heliantheae {{Heliantheae-stub