''Lopholaena'' (from ''lophos'', a crest, and ''chlaina'', a cloak) is a genus of perennial shrubs and

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

s 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 ...

. About 20 species occur from tropical to southern Africa.

Description

The

flower head 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 ...

is homogamous, having only disc florets, that grow from a flat, honeycombed receptacle. The flowers have 5 triangular lobes, and their corollas vary from white to light purple. The pappus consists of 2 to 3 series of slender bristles. One series of phyllaries fringe the flower head, which are fused at the base. The flower heads may be clustered or paniculate. The alternate leaves are nearly sessile and may clasp the stem (i.e. amplexicaul). ; SpeciesFlann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5227824 Senecioneae Asteraceae genera Flora of Africa