''Brachyscome'' 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 ...

. Most are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and a few occur in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

.Genus ''Brachyscome''.
PlantNet. New South Wales Flora Online. The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney.

Name

The genus name is spelled ''Brachycome'' by some authors.

Henri Cassini Count Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Cassini (9 May 1781 – 23 April 1832) was a French botanist and natural history, naturalist, who specialised in the sunflower family (Asteraceae) (then known as family Compositae). He was the youngest of five chi ...

published the name ''Brachyscome'' in 1816, forming it from the classical Greek ''brachys'' ("short") and ''kome'' ("hair"), a reference to the very short pappus bristles. Because the combining form of ''brachys'' in Greek compound words is ''brachy-'', Cassini later corrected the spelling to ''Brachycome''. Australian taxonomists still debate whether Cassini's corrected spelling is admissible under the rules of

botanical nomenclature Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from Alpha taxonomy, taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the ...

. A proposal to conserve ''Brachycome'' was rejected in 1993 by the Committee for Spermatophyta.Brummitt, R. K. (1993)
Report of the Committee for Spermatophyta: 38.
''Taxon'' 42(3), 687-97.

Genetics

One of the annual plains species, ''

Brachyscome dichromosomatica ''Brachyscome'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Most are endemic to Australia, and a few occur in New Zealand and New Guinea.chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

count. In this species ''n''=2, though some plants have 1, 2 or 3 additional large

B chromosomes In addition to the normal karyotype, wild populations of many animal, plant, and fungi species contain B chromosomes (also known as supernumerary, accessory, (conditionally-)dispensable, or lineage-specific chromosomes). By definition, these chr ...

.Carter, C. R. (1978). Taxonomy of the ''Brachycome lineariloba'' complex (Asteraceae). ''Telopea'' 5, 387-93. The genus has an unusually large range of chromosome counts, from ''n''=2 to ''n''=18.

Description

These are annual and

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

and small

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s. Species have a basal rosette of leaves and/or leaves alternately arranged on the stem. The blades are entire or divided. The

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

are solitary or borne in small

corymbs Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial re ...

. The head has a row of ray florets in shades of white, blue, pink, 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 ...

, and yellow disc florets.

Fruit

The genus is distinguished from other genera in

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

Astereae Astereae is a tribe of plants in the family Asteraceae that includes annuals, biennials, perennials, subshrubs, shrubs, and trees. They are found primarily in temperate regions of the world. Plants within the tribe are present nearly worldwide di ...

mainly by the structure of the

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

. These

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

s or cypselas are roughly club-shaped but usually incurved and flattened. They often have a membranous rim or wing around the edge that is sometimes wavy or fringed. The pappus is less than one millimeter long in most species.Everett, J. "''Brachycome''". In: Harden, G. J. (ed.) ''Flora of New South Wales'' volume 3, pages 155-67. University of New South Wales Press. 1992.

Habitat

''Brachyscome'' species are found in a wide range of habitats. They occupy rainy coastal and mountainous regions as well as dry central Australia.Watanabe, K., et al. (1999)
Chromosomal evolution in the genus ''Brachyscome'' (Asteraceae, Astereae): statistical tests regarding correlation between changes in karyotype and habit using phylogenetic information.
''Journal of Plant Research'' 112(2), 145-61.

Cultivation

Some ''Brachyscome'' species, notably ''Brachyscome iberidifolia'' (Swan river daisy), are popular as easily cultivated

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 ...

s for flower gardens, and many

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s are bred for their form, foliage, and flowers.

Species

There are between 65 and 80 species in the genus.''Brachyscome''.
The Plant List. Species include: *''

Brachyscome aculeata ''Brachyscome aculeata'', commonly known as hill daisy is a tufted perennial herb in the family Asteraceae and is endemic to Australia. It has mostly white daisy-like flowers, a yellow centre, variable shaped leaves and flowers in spring to autum ...

'' – hill daisy *''

Brachyscome ascendens ''Brachyscome ascendens'', the border ranges daisy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae and is endemic to Australia. It has mostly mauve daisy-like flowers and a yellow centre. Description ''Brachyscome ascendens'' is a her ...

'' *''

Brachyscome basaltica ''Brachyscome basaltica'', commonly known as swamp daisy, is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae and is endemic to Australia. It has mostly white daisy-like flowers and a yellow centre. Description ''Brachyscome basaltica'' is a perennia ...

'' – swamp daisy *''

Brachyscome chrysoglossa ''Brachyscome chrysoglossa'', the yellow-tongue daisy, is a perennial herb from Australia in the family Asteraceae. The species is endemic to Australia. Description This species has an erect growth habit, ranging between 15 and 40 cm in h ...

'' - yellow-tongue daisy *''

Brachyscome ciliaris ''Brachyscome ciliaris'', commonly known as variable daisy, is a small bushy perennial herb with a prominent flower, which occurs throughout most of temperate Australia Description It grows as a bushy perennial herb up to 45 centimetre in heigh ...

'' - variable daisy *'' Brachyscome decipiens'' – field daisy *''

Brachyscome dentata ''Brachyscome dentata'', commonly known as lobe-seed daisy, is a tufted perennial herb in the family Asteraceae and is endemic to Australia. It has mostly white or mauve daisy-like flowers, a yellow centre and pale green leaves. It is endemic to ...

'' *''

Brachyscome graminea ''Brachyscome graminea'', commonly known as grass daisy, is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae and is endemic to Australia. It has mostly mauve-pink or purple daisy-like flowers and a yellow centre. Description ''Brachyscome graminea'' ...

'' - stiff daisy, grassland daisy *'' Brachyscome iberidifolia'' - Swan River daisy *'' Brachyscome multifida'' - cut-leaved daisy, rock daisy, Hawkesbury daisy *'' Brachyscome nivalis'' – snow daisy *'' Brachyscome scapigera'' - tufted daisy *'' Brachyscome segmentosa'' - Lord Howe daisy, mountain daisy

References

External links

''Brachyscome'' species records.
FloraBase. Western Australian Herbarium. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2702913 Asteraceae genera Plants described in 1816 Flora of Australia Taxa named by Henri Cassini