''Encelia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of the plant 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 ...

. It consists of shrubs (and one

geophyte A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...

) of arid environments in southwestern North America and western

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

.Flora of North America, ''Encelia'' Adanson, Fam. Pl. 2: 128. 1763.
/ref> All have n = 18 chromosomes. All the North American species are obligate outcrossers. In cultivation, the species readily form fertile F₁ hybrids, F₂s, and backcrosses, but in natural areas of sympatry, F2s and backcrosses are absent or rare. ''Encelia'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of some Lepidoptera species including the

leaf miner A leaf miner is any one of numerous species of insects in which the larval stage lives in, and eats, the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths ( Lepidoptera), sawflies ( Symphyta, the mother clade of wasp ...

'' Bucculatrix enceliae'' which feeds exclusively on ''

Encelia farinosa ''Encelia farinosa'' (commonly known as brittlebush, brittlebrush, or incienso), is a common desert shrub of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It has a variety of historical uses. Description Brittlebush grows up to tall, ...

''. The

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

sister group of ''Encelia'' is a clade comprising the genera '' Enceliopsis'' and ''

Geraea ''Geraea'' is a genus of the family Asteraceae from the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, commonly called the desert sunflower. ; Species * '' Geraea canescens'' Torr. & A.Gray - California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah * '' Geraea v ...

''. The three genera are informally called the "Encelia alliance". ''Encelia'' is named in honor of German biologist Christophorus Enzelius, 1517–1583. ;SpeciesBiota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps
/ref> *''

Encelia actoni ''Encelia actoni'', also known by the common names Acton brittlebush and Acton encelia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is sometimes misspelled ''Encelia actonii''. Distribution and habitat The plant is native to s ...

Elmer Elmer is a name of Germanic British origin. The given name originated as a surname, a medieval variant of the given name Aylmer, derived from Old English ''æþel'' (noble) and ''mær'' (famous). It was adopted as a given name in the United State ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

*'' Encelia asperifolia'' (

S.F.Blake Sidney Fay Blake (1892–1959) was an American botanist and plant taxonomist, "recognized as one of the world's experts on botanical nomenclature." Biography Blake was born in 1892 in Stoughton, Massachusetts. In 1912, he received a bachelor's d ...

) C. Clark & Kyhos -

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

*'' Encelia californica''

Nutt. Thomas Nuttall (5 January 1786 – 10 September 1859) was an England, English botany, botanist and zoologist who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841. Nuttall was born in the village of Long Preston, near Settle, North Yorkshire, S ...

, Baja California Sur,

*'' Encelia canescens'' Lam. -

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, Bolivia *'' Encelia conspersa''

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

- Baja California Sur *'' Encelia densifolia'' C.Clark & Kyhos - Baja California Sur *''

'' Torr. &

A.Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exc ...

var. ''farinosa'' - brittlebush -

, Baja California Sur,

, Sonora, Sinaloa,

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila * Hidalgo, Nuevo Le� ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

*'' Encelia frutescens'' (

)

*'' Encelia halimifolia'' Cav. -

, Baja California Sur, Sonora *'' Encelia hispida'' Andersson - Galápagos *'' Encelia laciniata'' Vasey & Rose -

, Baja California Sur *'' Encelia nutans''

Eastwood Eastwood may refer to: Places ;in Australia *Eastwood, New South Wales **Eastwood railway station **Electoral district of Eastwood *Eastwood, South Australia ;in Canada * Eastwood, Ontario *Eastwood, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighborhood ;in the Ph ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

*'' Encelia palmeri'' Vasey &

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

- Baja California Sur *'' Encelia pilocarpa'' Rubsy- Bolivia *'' Encelia pilosiflora'' S.F.Blake -

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

*'' Encelia ravenii''

Wiggins Team Wiggins Le Col (), also known as ''Team Wiggins'' in media, was a professional developmental cycling team based in the United Kingdom, which began competing in elite road bicycle racing and track cycling in 2015. The team folded at the e ...

- Baja California Sur *'' Encelia resinifera'' C. Clark -

*'' Encelia scaposa'' (A.Gray) A.Gray- Chihuahua,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

*'' Encelia stenophylla'' Greene -

, Baja California Sur *'' Encelia ventorum'' T.S Brandegee -

, Baja California Sur *''

Encelia virginensis ''Encelia virginensis'' is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Virgin River brittlebush. This shrub is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, particularly th ...

'' A. Nels. -

References

Further reading