''Corethrogyne'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Its only species is ''Corethrogyne filaginifolia'' (

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

''Lessingia filaginifolia''), known by the common names common sandaster and California aster.

Description

''Corethrogyne filaginifolia'' is a robust

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 ...

herb or subshrub producing a simple to multibranched stem approaching in maximum length or height. The densely woolly leaves are several centimeters long and toothed or lobed low on the stem and smaller farther up the stem. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a single flower head or array of several heads at the tips of stem branches. The head is lined with narrow, pointed, purple-tipped phyllaries which curl back as the head matures. Inside are many purple, lavender, pink, or white ray florets and a center packed with up to 120 tubular yellow

disc floret 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 ...

s. The fruit is an

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 ...

with a pappus of reddish bristles on top. Lessingia filaginifolia var filaginifolia 2

Taxonomy

The genus ''Corethrogyne'' was erected by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1836 for the species he described as ''Corethrogyne californica''. De Candolle explained the genus name as derived from Greek , , 'broom', 'brush' and , , 'woman', 'female', referring to the appendages on the style branches. In 1833,

William Jackson Hooker Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he ...

and George A. Walker Arnott had described ''Aster filaginifolius''. This species is now regarded as

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with ''Corethrogyne californica'', in which case the oldest epithet is ''filaginifolius'', so the correct name in ''Corethrogyne'' is ''Corethrogyne filaginifolia''. Species placed in ''Corethrogyne'' were later grouped together under the name ''Lessingia filaginifolia'', and then moved back to genus ''Corethrogyne'' as a single species with many synonyms. ,

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

accepted only one species in the genus ''Corethrogyne'', ''Corethrogyne filaginifolia'', making the genus

Distribution and habitat

''Corethrogyne filaginifolia'' is native to western North America from the southwestern corner of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

through

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

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 ...

, where it is a common member of many plant communities, including chaparral and woodlands, forests, scrub,

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s, and the

serpentine soil Serpentine soil is an uncommon soil type produced by weathered ultramafic rock such as peridotite and its metamorphic derivatives such as serpentinite. More precisely, serpentine soil contains minerals of the serpentine subgroup, especially anti ...

s flora.

References

External links

''Corethrogyne filaginifolia''
at Calflora
''Corethrogyne filaginifolia''
at Jepson eFlora
United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile for ''Corethrogyne filaginifolia'' (common sandaster)''Corethrogyne filaginifolia'' — Calphotos Photo gallery, University of California
Astereae Monotypic Asteraceae genera Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Astereae-stub