''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are

5-merous Merosity (from the greek "méros," which means "having parts") refers to the number of component parts in a distinct whorl of a plant structure. The term is most commonly used in the context of a flower where it refers to the number of sepals in a w ...

, small and clustered in typical heads, surrounded by an involucre of

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s. In ''Pteronia'', the centre of the head is taken by relatively few, yellow, disc florets, while a ring of ligulate florets is absent. These florets sit on a common base (or

receptacle Receptacle may refer to: Biology * Receptacle (botany), a plant anatomical part * Seminal receptacle, a sperm storage site in some insects Electrical engineering * Automobile auxiliary power outlet, formerly known as ''cigarette lighter recep ...

Taxonomy

A species of Gombos was first described and assigned to the new genus ''Pteronia'' by the famous Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the second edition of his groundbreaking

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

, the starting point of modern botanical nomenclature, that was published in 1763. He had not seen living plants or dried herbarium specimens, but based his description on an etching made by the English botanist Leonard Plukenet in 1700. This etching probably represents ''

Pteronia camphorata ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in typic ...

'', which has been chosen as type species of the genus. In 1917, John Hutchinson and Edwin Percy Phillips revised the genus and recognised 61 species.

Description

Gombos species are all evergreen, woody perennial plants of high that often contain aromatic substances. It mostly has hairless or variably hairy or glandular, wand-like (or virgate) branches, but sometimes the branches have wider angles (or

divaricate Divaricate means branching, or having separation or a degree of separation. The angle between branches is wide. In botany In botany, the term is often used to describe the branching pattern of plants. Plants are said to be divaricating when the ...

). The leaves are mostly arranged in a cross, in some in a spiral or alternate, and rarely opposite and may also be hairless, variously hairy and glandular, or have a row of hairs around the margin.

Ecology

Gombos species can mostly be found in dry habitats.

Distribution

The species of ''Pteronia'' can be found in Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. About 50 species occur in the Cape Floristic Region, particularly in the

Succulent Karoo The Succulent Karoo is a ecoregion defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature to include regions of desert in South Africa and Namibia, and a biodiversity hotspot. The geographic area chosen by the WWF for what they call 'Succulent Karoo' does no ...

and to a lesser extend in the Nama Karoo biomes. In Namibia 24 species are found.

Species list

It contains the following species: *''

Pteronia acuminata ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in typic ...

'' *''

Pteronia acuta ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in typic ...

'' *''

Pteronia adenocarpa ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in typic ...

'' *''

Pteronia ambrariifolia ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in typic ...

'' *''

Pteronia anisata ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in typic ...

'' *''

Pteronia aspalatha ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in typic ...

'' *''

Pteronia beckeoides ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in typic ...

'' *'' Pteronia bolusii'' *'' Pteronia callosa'' *''

'' *'' Pteronia centauroides'' *''

Pteronia ciliata ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in ty ...

'' *'' Pteronia cinerea'' *'' Pteronia cylindracea'' *''

Pteronia diosmifolia ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in ty ...

'' *'' Pteronia divaricata'' *'' Pteronia eenii'' *''

Pteronia elata ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in typic ...

'' *'' Pteronia elongata'' *''

Pteronia empetrifolia ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in ty ...

'' *'' Pteronia erythrochaeta'' *''

Pteronia fasciculata ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in ty ...

'', Paraffienbos *'' Pteronia fastigiata'' *'' Pteronia flexicaulis'' *'' Pteronia foleyi'' *'' Pteronia glabrata'' *''

Pteronia glauca ''Pteronia glauca'' ("Geelboegoekaroo") is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, indigenous to the Karoo regions of South Africa. Description A shrub of roughly 60 cm, usually with downwards-drooping outer branches (especia ...

'', Geelboegoekaroo *'' Pteronia glaucescens'' *'' Pteronia glomerata'' *'' Pteronia gymnocline'' *'' Pteronia heterocarpa'' *'' Pteronia hirsuta'' *'' Pteronia hutchinsoniana'' *''

Pteronia incana ''Pteronia incana'' ("Asbos" or "ash-bush") is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, indigenous to the Karoo regions of South Africa. Description This species has small, light grey, woolly, fragrant leaves, and forms a low, de ...

'', Asbos *'' Pteronia inflexa'' *'' Pteronia intermedia'' *'' Pteronia leptospermoides'' *'' Pteronia leucoclada'' *'' Pteronia leucoloma'' *'' Pteronia lucilioides'' *'' Pteronia membranacea'' *''

Pteronia mooreiana ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in ty ...

'' *'' Pteronia mucronata'' *'' Pteronia oblanceolata'' *''

Pteronia onobromoides ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in typic ...

'', Boegoebos *'' Pteronia oppositifolia'' *'' Pteronia ovalifolia'' *''

Pteronia pallens ''Pteronia pallens'' ("Scholtzbos" or "Aasvoëlbos / Witbas") is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, indigenous to the Karoo regions of South Africa. Its natural habitat is dry, rocky slopes. It often cooccurs with its close re ...

'', Scholtzbos *''

Pteronia paniculata ''Pteronia paniculata'' ("Gombos" or "gum-bush") is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, indigenous to the Karoo regions of South Africa. Description This aromatic species has sticky leaves but, unlike some other ''Pteronia'' ...

'', Gombos *'' Pteronia pillansii'' *'' Pteronia polygalifolia'' *''

Pteronia pomonae ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in ty ...

'' *'' Pteronia punctata'' *'' Pteronia quinqueflora'' *'' Pteronia rangei'' *'' Pteronia scabra'' *'' Pteronia scariosa'' *'' Pteronia smutsii'' *''

Pteronia sordida ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in ty ...

'' *'' Pteronia spinulosa'' *'' Pteronia stoehelinoides'' *'' Pteronia stricta'' *''

Pteronia succulenta ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in ty ...

'' *''

Pteronia tenuifolia ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in ty ...

'' *''

Pteronia teretifolia ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in ty ...

'' *'' Pteronia tricephala'' *'' Pteronia uncinata'' *''

Pteronia undulata ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in ty ...

'' *'' Pteronia unguiculata'' *'' Pteronia utilis'' *'' Pteronia villosa'' *''

Pteronia viscosa ''Pteronia'' ("resin daisies") is a genus of evergreen, woody perennial plants assigned to the family Asteraceae with currently 76 described species. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are Merosity, 5-merous, small and clustere ...

Gallery

File:Pteronia paniculata - Ashton - b.jpg, ''

'' ("Gombos") File:2 Pteronia pallens - flower detail - Matjiesfontein.jpg, ''

'' ("Scholtzbos") File:Pteronia fasciculata - Paraffienbos detail.jpg, ''

'' ("Paraffienbos") File:Pteronia incana - Asbos detail.jpg, ''

'' ("Asbos") File:Pteronia uncinata - Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens 1 - Copy.jpg, '' Pteronia uncinata''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q508116 Asteraceae genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot