''Brachylaena'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s 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 ...

. Several 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 ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, and the others are distributed in mainland

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 the southern regions.Beentje, H. J. (2000)
The genus ''Brachylaena'' (Compositae: Mutisieae).
''Kew Bulletin'' 55(1), 1-41. These are

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s and

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 with alternately arranged leaves. One of these, Brachylaena merana, is the tallest of all composites ('daisy trees") at up to 132 feet (forty meters). They are

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, with male and female flowers occurring on separate individuals. 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 somewhat disc-shaped. Heads with female flowers are larger and produce larger

pappi In Asteraceae, the pappus is the modified calyx, the part of an individual floret, that surrounds the base of the corolla tube in flower. It functions as a wind-dispersal mechanism for the seeds. The term is sometimes used for similar s ...

. ''B. huillensis'' is the only widespread species, growing as a dominant tree in ''Brachylaena''

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

s and a common species in some eastern African forests. It provides critical habitat for many animal species. It is also sought after for its wood and has been

overexploited Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term ap ...

.Cordeiro, N. J. and M. Githiru. (2000)
Conservation evaluation for birds of ''Brachylaena'' woodland and mixed dry forest in north-east Tanzania.
''Bird Conservation International'' 10(1), 47-65. ; Species Some species are subject of dispute: * '' Brachylaena rotundata'' S.Moore is seen by some as '' Brachylaena discolor'' var. ''rotundata'' (S.Moore) Beentje * '' Brachylaena transvaalensis'' Hutch. ex E.Phillips & Schweick. is seen as synonym of '' Brachylaena discolor'' var. ''transvaalensis'' (E.Phillips & Schweick.) Beentje

References

Asteraceae genera Flora of Africa Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Dioecious plants {{asteraceae-stub