''Brachyscome'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of flowering plants 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 ...

. Most 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 else ...

to Australia, and a few occur in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

.Genus ''Brachyscome''.
PlantNet. New South Wales Flora Online. The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney.

Name

The genus name is spelled ''Brachycome'' by some authors.

Henri Cassini Count Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Cassini (9 May 1781 – 23 April 1832) was a French botanist and naturalist, who specialised in the sunflower family (Asteraceae) (then known as family Compositae). He was the youngest of five children of Jacqu ...

published the name ''Brachyscome'' in 1816, forming it from the classical Greek ''brachys'' ("short") and ''kome'' ("hair"), a reference to the very short pappus bristles. Because the combining form of ''brachys'' in Greek compound words is ''brachy-'', Cassini later corrected the spelling to ''Brachycome''. Australian taxonomists still debate whether Cassini's corrected spelling is admissible under the rules of botanical nomenclature. A proposal to conserve ''Brachycome'' was rejected in 1993 by the Committee for Spermatophyta.Brummitt, R. K. (1993)
Report of the Committee for Spermatophyta: 38.
''Taxon'' 42(3), 687-97.

Genetics

One of the annual plains species, '' Brachyscome dichromosomatica'', is remarkable for its low

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

count. In this species ''n''=2, though some plants have 1, 2 or 3 additional large B chromosomes.Carter, C. R. (1978). Taxonomy of the ''Brachycome lineariloba'' complex (Asteraceae). ''Telopea'' 5, 387-93. The genus has an unusually large range of chromosome counts, from ''n''=2 to ''n''=18.

Description

These are

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

and

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 wid ...

herbs and small shrubs. Species have a basal rosette of leaves and/or leaves alternately arranged on the stem. The blades are entire or divided. The flower heads are solitary or borne in small

corymbs Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial re ...

. The head has a row of ray florets in shades of white, blue, pink, or

mauve Mauve (, ; , ) is a pale purple color named after the mallow flower (French: ''mauve''). The first use of the word ''mauve'' as a color was in 1796–98 according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', but its use seems to have been rare befo ...

, and yellow disc florets.

Fruit

The genus is distinguished from other genera in

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

Astereae mainly by the structure of the

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

. These achenes or cypselas are roughly club-shaped but usually incurved and flattened. They often have a membranous rim or wing around the edge that is sometimes wavy or fringed. The pappus is less than one millimeter long in most species.Everett, J. "''Brachycome''". In: Harden, G. J. (ed.) ''Flora of New South Wales'' volume 3, pages 155-67. University of New South Wales Press. 1992.

Habitat

''Brachyscome'' species are found in a wide range of habitats. They occupy rainy coastal and mountainous regions as well as dry central Australia.Watanabe, K., et al. (1999)
Chromosomal evolution in the genus ''Brachyscome'' (Asteraceae, Astereae): statistical tests regarding correlation between changes in karyotype and habit using phylogenetic information.
''Journal of Plant Research'' 112(2), 145-61.

Cultivation

Some ''Brachyscome'' species, notably ''Brachyscome iberidifolia'' (Swan river daisy), are popular as easily cultivated

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

s for flower gardens, and many

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s are bred for their form, foliage, and flowers.

Species

There are between 65 and 80 species in the genus.''Brachyscome''.
The Plant List. Species include: *'' Brachyscome aculeata'' – hill daisy *'' Brachyscome ascendens'' *'' Brachyscome basaltica'' – swamp daisy *'' Brachyscome chrysoglossa'' - yellow-tongue daisy *'' Brachyscome ciliaris'' - variable daisy *'' Brachyscome decipiens'' – field daisy *'' Brachyscome dentata'' *'' Brachyscome graminea'' - stiff daisy, grassland daisy *'' Brachyscome iberidifolia'' - Swan River daisy *'' Brachyscome multifida'' - cut-leaved daisy, rock daisy, Hawkesbury daisy *'' Brachyscome nivalis'' – snow daisy *'' Brachyscome scapigera'' - tufted daisy *'' Brachyscome segmentosa'' - Lord Howe daisy, mountain daisy

References

External links

''Brachyscome'' species records.
FloraBase. Western Australian Herbarium. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2702913 Asteraceae genera Plants described in 1816 Flora of Australia Taxa named by Henri Cassini