''Berkheya'' 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 aster 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 ...

, and the subfamily

Carduoideae Carduoideae is the thistle subfamily of the Asteraceae, or sunflower family, of flowering plants. It comprises a number of tribes in various circumscriptions of the family, in addition to the Cynareae. Takhtajan, according to Reveal, includes 1 ...

, the

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. ...

s. It is distributed in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)
568. ''Berkheya purpurea''.
''Curtis's Botanical Magazine'' 23(4), 289-96. Of about 75 species, 71 can be found in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

.Funk, V. A. and R. Chan. (2008)
Phylogeny of the spiny African daisies (Compositae, tribe Arctotideae, subtribe Gorteriinae) based on ''trn''L-F, ''ndh''F, and ITS sequence data.
''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 48(1), 47-60. Most species have yellow ray florets, a few have white, and ''B. purpurea'' has light purple or

mauve Mauve (, ; , ) is a pale purple color named after the mallow flower (French: ''mauve''). The first use of the word ''mauve'' as a color was in 1796–98 according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', but its use seems to have been rare befo ...

florets. ''B. purpurea'' is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

. Some ''Berkheya'' are known as weeds.Clark, M. M
A comparison between the flower-head insect communities of South African ''Berkheya'' and European Cynareae.
In: ''Proceedings of the VIII International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds''. (pp. 165-170). Istituto Sperimentale per la Vegetale, Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle Foreste. 1990. ''B. coddii'' is a well-known

hyperaccumulator A hyperaccumulator is a plant capable of growing in soil or water with very high concentrations of metals, absorbing these metals through their roots, and concentrating extremely high levels of metals in their tissues. The metals are concentrated a ...

. Concentration of Ni as the leaves of this species may reach 7.6% DW Ni. The genus was named in honor of the Dutch scientist and artist

Johannes le Francq van Berkhey Johannes le Francq van Berkhey (1729–1812) was an 18th-century painter, scientist, physician and poet from the Dutch Republic. Biography He was born in Leiden. According to Roeland van Eynden and Adriaan van der Willigen in their dictionary ...

. ''Berkheya'' are associated with a variety of

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and Herbivore, herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They b ...

s in the genus '' Larinus''. The tephritid fruit fly ''

Urophora agromyzella ''Urophora agromyzella'' is a species of tephritid or fruit flies in the genus ''Urophora'' of the family Tephritidae. Distribution Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is th ...

'' is also found on the plants.

Species

Species include: * ''

Berkheya acanthopoda ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' * ''

Berkheya angusta ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' * ''

Berkheya angustifolia ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' * ''

Berkheya annectens ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' – thistle-thorn * ''

Berkheya armata ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' * ''

Berkheya barbata ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' * ''

Berkheya bergiana ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' * ''

Berkheya bipinnatifida ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' * ''

Berkheya caffra ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' * ''

Berkheya canescens ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' * '' Berkheya cardopatifolia'' * '' Berkheya carduoides'' * '' Berkheya carlinifolia'' * '' Berkheya carlinoides'' * '' Berkheya carlinopsis'' * '' Berkheya chamaepeuce'' * '' Berkheya cirsiifolia'' * '' Berkheya coddii'' * '' Berkheya coriacea'' * '' Berkheya cruciata'' * '' Berkheya cuneata'' * '' Berkheya debilis'' * '' Berkheya decurrens'' * '' Berkheya densifolia'' * '' Berkheya discolor'' * '' Berkheya draco'' * '' Berkheya dregei'' * '' Berkheya echinacea'' * '' Berkheya eriobasis'' * '' Berkheya erysithales'' * '' Berkheya ferox'' * '' Berkheya francisci'' * '' Berkheya fruticosa'' * '' Berkheya glabrata'' – yellow thistle * '' Berkheya griquana'' * '' Berkheya herbacea'' * '' Berkheya heterophylla'' * ''

Berkheya insignis ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' * '' Berkheya latifolia'' * ''

Berkheya leucaugeta ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' * '' Berkheya mackenii'' * '' Berkheya macrocephala'' * '' Berkheya maritima'' * '' Berkheya montana'' * '' Berkheya multijuga'' * '' Berkheya nivea'' * '' Berkheya onobromoides'' * '' Berkheya onopordifolia'' * '' Berkheya pannosa'' * '' Berkheya pauciflora'' * '' Berkheya pinnatifida'' * '' Berkheya purpurea'' – purple berkheya * '' Berkheya radula'' * '' Berkheya radyeri'' * '' Berkheya rhapontica'' * '' Berkheya rigida'' – Augusta thistle, Hamelin thistle * '' Berkheya robusta'' * ''

Berkheya rosulata ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' * '' Berkheya seminivea'' * '' Berkheya setifera'' * '' Berkheya speciosa'' * '' Berkheya sphaerocephala'' * '' Berkheya spinosa'' * ''

Berkheya spinosissima ''Berkheya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, and the subfamily Carduoideae, the thistles. It is distributed in tropical Africa, especially in southern regions.Hind, N. (2006)568. ''Berkheya purpurea''. ''Curtis's B ...

'' * '' Berkheya subulata'' * '' Berkheya tysonii'' * '' Berkheya umbellata'' * '' Berkheya viscosa'' * '' Berkheya zeyheri''

Gallery

File:Berkheya armata (2).jpg, ''

'' File:Berkheya cirsiifolia.jpg, '' Berkheya cirsiifolia'' File:Berkheya purpurea 03.jpg, '' Berkheya purpurea'' File:Berkheya radula01.jpg, '' Berkheya radula''

Phylogeny

Comparison of DNA has indicated that ''Berkheya'' in its current composition is

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

because some of its species are more related to ''

Cullumia ''Cullumia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family. ; Species All the species are endemic to the Cape Province region of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country ...

'', '' Cuspidia'', '' Didelta'' and '' Heterorhachis'' than all species currently recognised as ''Berkeya'' among each other.

References

Arctotideae Asteraceae genera Flora of Africa Taxa named by Jakob Friedrich Ehrhart {{Asteraceae-stub