Achyrocline alata
Achyrocline alata is a flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae, described in South American floras. Kew accepts the name, published in 1838, and includes Achyrocline madioides Meyen & Walp. among its synonyms. Its reported distribution differs substantially between current database metadata and regional botanical accounts.[1]
Appearance
The 2016 flora of Mucugê, Bahia, distinguishes the plant by the narrow wings running along its stems. These continue downwards from the leaf bases. The leaves are narrow, with edges rolled under and three main veins; the flower heads form a branching terminal cluster.[2]
The Brazilian flora describes small yellowish flowers grouped in numerous heads and dry fruits about a millimetre long, with a white tuft of bristles. This description concerns the plant as treated in that Brazilian flora.[3]
Regional records and range uncertainty
The Mucugê study records collections from rocky grassland and from a marshy area with dry vegetation.[2] A Bogotá herbarium record documents a specimen collected in Sumapaz in 2018 and identified as A. alata in 2020. Its field notes describe a small shrub with whitish hairs and cream-coloured flower heads at about 3,800 metres elevation.[4]
These records contrast with Kew's current native-range field, which lists Bolivia alone. Kew also retains links to Colombian botanical treatments and recognises A. madioides as a synonym.[1] The published Brazilian and Colombian records are therefore reported here with their sources and dates; they should not be silently discarded or converted into a claim that the species is confined to Bolivia.[2][4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Achyrocline alata (Kunth) DC. Plants of the World Online. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Asteraceae no Município de Mucugê, Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brasil (2016). Rodriguésia 67(1), doi:10.1590/2175-7860201667109; Achyrocline key and species account. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ Flora do Brasil 2020, Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. Gnaphalieae: Achyrocline alata, p. 7; indexed species treatment. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Herbario del Jardín Botánico de Bogotá. Specimen50567: collection in Sumapaz in 2018, identified as Achyrocline alata in 2020. Accessed 9 October 2026.