''Verbesina'', many species of which have crownbeard as part of their common names, 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 Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

.Tropicos, ''Verbesina'' L.
/ref> It is a large genus of about 350

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

.Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist
/ref> All the species bear white or yellow flowers similar to small

sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...

s. The name ''Verbesina'' very likely refers to the similarity of the foliage to that of the (unrelated) ''

Verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas a ...

.'' ''Verbesina'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species. These include ''

Schinia bina ''Schinia bina'', the bina flower moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found from Mexico City to central Florida, and as far north as Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada.

'', which has been recorded from '' V. encelioides'', and '' Schinia siren'' which feeds exclusively on that species. Pollen grains from eight of the nine species of ''Verbesina'' found in Brazil have been characterized as oblate-spheroidal, medium-sized, isopolar monads. They are 3-colplorate with a subtriangular amb, a small polar area, a long colpus, a lalongate endoaperture, a caveate exine and an echinate sexine.

Selected species

* ''

Verbesina alternifolia ''Verbesina alternifolia'' is a species of flowering plant 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. ...

'' * ''

Verbesina auriculigera ''Verbesina'', many species of which have crownbeard as part of their common names, is a genus of flowering plants, in the family (biology), family Asteraceae. It is a large genus of about 350 species. All the species bear white or yellow flower ...

'' * '' Verbesina barclayae'' * '' Verbesina brachypoda'' * '' Verbesina chapmanii'' * '' Verbesina dissita'' * '' Verbesina ecuatoriana'' * ''

Verbesina encelioides ''Verbesina encelioides'' is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. The species is native to many parts of the United States and Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern po ...

'' * '' Verbesina gigantea'' * '' Verbesina glabrata'' * '' Verbesina grisebachii'' * '' Verbesina guatemalensis'' * '' Verbesina harlingii'' * ''

Verbesina hastata ''Verbesina'', many species of which have crownbeard as part of their common names, is a genus of flowering plants, in the family Asteraceae. It is a large genus of about 350 species. All the species bear white or yellow flowers similar to small ...

'' * '' Verbesina helianthoides'' * ''

Verbesina howardiana ''Verbesina'', many species of which have crownbeard as part of their common names, is a genus of flowering plants, in the family Asteraceae. It is a large genus of about 350 species. All the species bear white or yellow flowers similar to small ...

'' * '' Verbesina kingii'' * '' Verbesina latisquama'' * '' Verbesina mameana'' * '' Verbesina minuticeps'' * '' Verbesina occidentalis'' * '' Verbesina pentantha'' * '' Verbesina persicifolia'' * '' Verbesina petrobioides'' * '' Verbesina pseudoclausseni'' * '' Verbesina pustulata'' * '' Verbesina rivetii'' * '' Verbesina rupestris'' * '' Verbesina saloyensis'' * '' Verbesina squarrosa'' * '' Verbesina subcordata'' * '' Verbesina villonacoensis'' * '' Verbesina virginica''

References

Asteraceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Heliantheae-stub