Smallanthus

Yacón ( Smallanthus sonchifolius ), root tubers.

The Smallanthus are a plant genus in the family of herbaceous within the sunflower family ( Asteraceae). The botanical genus name honors the American botanist John Kunkel Small ( 1869-1938 ). In the genus Smallanthus there are about 21 species. Few of them, for example Yacón ( Smallanthus sonchifolius ), are used as medicinal plants or useful plants.

Description

Smallanthus species grow as upright, rarely annual to perennial mostly herbaceous plants and sometimes form root nodules as outlasting; or if they are woody species, they grow as shrubs or small trees. You can reach depending on the type usually plant height of about 1-3, rarely up more than 12 meters. The arranged alternately along the stems or twigs arranged distributed leaves are petiolate (usually with a winged stalk) or rarely sessile. The leaf blade is simple to lobed. The leaf margin is serrated. The leaf surfaces are hairy differently depending on the type, at least the bottom.

The circular, capitula -shaped buds appear singly and terminally or in pairs to fifth overall in branched inflorescences. The flower heads have diameters from 0.8 to up to 1.5 centimeters. In two series are 12 to 13, rarely up more than 25 bracts; the outer four to six are wider and herbaceous, the inner narrower, shorter, and membranous (green) or trockenhäutig (brown). The inflorescence floors are flat to convex. There are trockenhäutige chaff leaves present. The flower heads contain seven to 13, rarely up more than 25 florets and usually 40 to 80 (20 to 150 ), tubular flowers. The female, fertile, zygomorphic ray florets ( = ray florets ) are usually yellow, rarely white or orange with hairy Kronröhren. The functionally male fertile florets ( = disc florets ) are usually yellow, rarely orange with five corolla lobes.

The 30 -, 40 - or -lane rippigen achenes are usually ovate or rarely quadrangular and sometimes hairy at the top. There is no pappus present.

Systematics and distribution

The natural distribution of the genus Smallanthus ranges from the United States ( only Smallanthus uvedalius ) on Mexico and Central America to South America, there to Argentina at 35 ° Southern latitude.

The first publication of the genus Smallanthus took place in 1933 by Kenneth Kent Mackenzie in John Kunkel Small: Manual of the Flora of the Southeastern U.S. in 1406, and it was by Harold E. Robinson in 1978 in Studies in the Heliantheae (Asteraceae). XII. Re -establishment of the genus Smallanthus. , Reactivated in Phytologia, 39, pp. 47-47. The genus belongs to the tribe Smallanthus Millerieae in the subfamily of herbaceous within the sunflower family ( Asteraceae). Many species were formerly included in genus Polymnia L., in the few North American species have remained only today.

  • Smallanthus apus ( S.F.Blake ) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus connatus ( Spreng. ) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus fruticosus ( Benth. ) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus glabratus ( DC.) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus jelskii ( Jerome, ) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus latisquamus ( S.F.Blake ) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus lundellii H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus macroscyphus ( Baker) A.Grau
  • Smallanthus maculatus ( Cav. ) H.Rob. (including Smallanthus obscurus B.L.Turner )
  • Smallanthus macvaughii ( J.R.Wells ) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus meridensis ( Steyerm. ) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus microcephalus ( Jerome, ) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus oaxacanus ( Sch.Bip. Ex Klatt ) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus parviceps ( S.F.Blake ) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus pyramidalis ( Triana ) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus quichensis ( J.M.Coult. ) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus riparius ( Kunth ) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus siegesbeckius ( DC.) H.Rob.
  • Yacón ( Smallanthus sonchifolius ( Poepp. & Endl. ) H.Rob. ) Is a perennial herbaceous plant, forming edible tubers.
  • Smallanthus suffruticosus ( Baker) H.Rob.
  • Smallanthus uvedalius (L.) Mack. ex Small (syn.: Osteospermum uvedalia L., Polymnia uvedalia (L.) L.): From the underground plant parts, the drug Extractum Polymniae is recovered fluid.

Spanish common names are: Jicama and Polaco.

Swell

  • John L. Strother: Smallanthus in the Flora of North America, Volume 21, page 33: - Online.
  • Trees and shrubs in Smallanthus of the Andes of Ecuador. (Spanish )
Asteroideae Perennial plant Pappus (flower structure)
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