Felicia (plant)

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Felicia
Felicia amoena ssp latifolia vBerkel 2.jpg
section Neodetris: Felicia amoena ↑

section Felicia: Felicia muricata ↓

Felicia muricata Flipphi 1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Astereae
Subtribe: Homochrominae
Genus: Felicia
Cass.
Type species
Felicia tenella [1]
(L.) Nees
Felicia distribution.svg
Synonyms [2]
  • CharieisCass.
  • DetrisAdans.
  • KaulfussiaNees
  • MunychiaCass.
  • ElphegeaLess.
  • DetridiumNees
  • AgathaeaCass.
  • AsterospermaLess.
  • FreseniaDC.

Felicia is a genus of small shrubs, perennial or annual herbaceous plants, with 85 known species, that is assigned to the daisy family (Compositae or Asteraceae). Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small, and clustered in typical heads, which are surrounded by an involucre of between two and four whorls of bracts. In Felicia, the centre of the head is taken by yellow, seldom whitish or blackish blue disc florets, and is almost always surrounded by one single whorl of mostly purple, sometimes blue, pink, white, or yellow ligulate florets, and rarely, ligulate florets are absent. These florets sit on a common base (or receptacle) and are not individually subtended by a bract (or palea). Most species occur in the Cape Floristic Region, which is most probably the area where the genus originates and had most of its development. Some species can be found in the eastern half of Africa up to Sudan and the south-western Arabian Peninsula, while on the west coast, species can be found from the Cape to Angola, with one species having outposts on the Cameroon-Nigeria border and central Nigeria. Some species of Felicia are cultivated as ornamentals, and several hybrids have been developed for that purpose. [2]

Contents

Taxonomy

An early illustration of Aster tenellus in The Botanical Magazine, Volume 1, Plate 33 (presumedly published in 1787) The Botanical Magazine, Plate 33 (Volume 1, 1787).png
An early illustration of Aster tenellus in The Botanical Magazine, Volume 1, Plate 33 (presumedly published in 1787)

Aster tenellus, that was figured by the early English botanist Leonard Plukenet in 1692, was the first species recorded that is now included in the genus Felicia (as F. tenella). This was followed in 1700 by Aster fruticosus, again by Plukenet, repeated by Caspar Commelin in 1701, a species now called Felicia fruticosa. Such names published before 1753, the year that was chosen as a starting point for the binomial nomenclature proposed by Carl Linnaeus, are not valid however. In 1761, John Hill erected the genus Coelestina widely considered a later synonym of Ageratum , but the plant that was illustrated most likely is the same species as F. amelloides. In 1763, Carl Linnaeus describes Cineraria amelloides (F. amelloides), the first valid name for a species assigned today to Felicia. In 1763, French botanist Michel Adanson described a new genus, Detris, without mentioning a species, but apparently having F. amelloides in mind. Peter Jonas Bergius, a botanist from Sweden, described Aster hyssopifolius in 1767, now known as F. hyssopifolia. A year later, Dutch botanist Pieter Burman the Younger added Aster aethiopicus (now F. aethiopica). This is followed by Aster cymbalariae (William Aiton, 1789), Leysseria ovata and Pteronia echinata (Carl Peter Thunberg, 1800 and 1823), Aster filifolius (Étienne Pierre Ventenat, 1804), and Cineraria bergeriana (Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel, 1826), now F. cymbalariae, F. ovata, F. echinata, F. filifolius and F. bergeriana. [2]

In 1815, French Asteraceae specialist Henri Cassini begun his work to rearrange the genera of the Asteraceae, splitting off species that had been assigned to Aster up till that moment but are now accepted in Felicia, starting with erecting Agatacha. This name was probably a typographical error, since he replaced it by Agathaea in the following year. In 1817 he created Charieis, and followed up with Felicia in 1818. He erected Munychia in 1825 to accommodate Aster cymbalariae. Only of the species he assigned to his new genus Diplopappus (1819) none are currently included in Felicia. At that moment in time, 17 species currently included in Felicia were known to science. [2]

Because of the extensive collecting in the Cape Region by Drège, Ecklon and Zeyher, during the next decade the number of known species expanded rapidly. In 1832, Christian Friedrich Lessing moved most species Cassini distributed over his new genera back to Aster, although he assigned Cineraria bergerana to Elphegea, and created the new combinations Diplopappus fruticosa and D. filifolia. A year later, Nees von Esenbeck considered the assignment of current Felicia species. He thought Charieis was synonymous to the older genus Kaulfussia, agreed mostly with the split created by Cassini, includes the species of the section Lignofelicia in Diplostephium (Kunth, 1820), and created the genus Detridium for Cineraria bergerana. Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1836 recognises Agathaea, Diplopappus, Felicia and Munychia, together 49 species, most of which are assigned to Felicia today. Consecutive authors can roughly be divided in lumpers that brought together many species in Aster, and splitters that proposed narrow taxa, and both groups eventually converged on Felicia in its current circumscription. Jürke Grau revised the genus in 1973 and described seventeen new species (F. alba, F. caespitosa, F. canaliculata, F. clavipilosa, F. comptonii, F. joubertinae, F. merxmuellerii, F. microcephala, F. monocephala, F. nigrescens, F. nordenstamii, F. oleosa, F. stenophylla and F. tsitsikamae), alongside eight new subspecies. [2] Only four species have been described since: F. flava by Henk Jaap Beentje (1999), [3] F. martinsiana (2007) by Santiago Ortiz, [4] F. josephinae (2002) by John Manning and Peter Goldblatt, [5] and F. douglasii in 2018 by Manning, Anthony Maggee and James Boatwright. [6] Currently, 85 species have been assigned to Felicia.

Although Felicia has been commonly used for a long time, it is not the oldest name. In principle, Detris, as the earliest name, should have priority, but it was suppressed in favour of the widely used name Felicia. [2] In 2010, it was proposed to also conserve Felicia over Agathaea, Charieis and Coelestina, because these names also precede Felicia and should get priority otherwise. [7]

Naming

The genus is presumed to be named in honor of Fortunato Bartolomeo de Felice, an Italian-Swiss scientist. [8]

Subdivision

The genus Felicia is divided into six groups called sections. These are Anhebecarpaea, Dracontium, Felicia, Lignofelicia, Longistylis and Neodetris. [2] F. douglasii could not yet be assigned to any section. [6]

The following taxa are assigned to the respective sections. [2]

Phylogeny

According to recent DNA-analysis, Felicia belongs to the tribe Asterinae. [9] It is probably polyphyletic. [10]

Reassigned species

The species that were originally described as, or moved to Felicia or one of its synonyms, which since have been reassigned include the following: [2]

Description

The base number of chromosomes of the earliest common ancestor of Felicia is probably nine, with most species diploid (2n=18), but some taxa in the section Felicia are tetraploid (4n=36), such as F. clavipilosa subsp. transvaalensis, F. fascicularis, and F. uliginosa. Divergent base chromosome numbers occur in the derived section Neodetris, with eight (2n=16) in F. amoena and F. elongata, six (2n=12) in F. minima and five (2n=10) in F. heterophylla, F. merxmuelleri and F. namaquana.

About 60% of the species currently assigned to Felicia are shrubs, 15–60 cm (5.9–23.6 in) high, very rarely up to 2 m (6.6 ft), most of which belong to the sections Lignofelicia, Anhebecarpaea and Felicia. Hardly 20% are herbaceous perennials, which are often in the sections Dracontium and Neodetris. Another 20% consists of annuals, many of which are assigned to the section Neodetris, while Longistylis is entirely made up of annual species. All the woody and most herbaceous species are well-branched and bear many flowerheads, while the section Dracontium is rich in species with a leaf rosette and stems topped by a single head. Stressed specimens of annual Felicia species can sometimes have only one flower head per plant. Two related species in the section Neodetris growing on vertical rock faces have a pendulous habit: F. petiolata and F. flanaganii.

Vegetative reproduction is rare, but rhizomes occur in F. tenella, F. wrightii, F. amoena and more or less in F. uliginosa. A special type of vegetative reproduction can be found in F. fascicularis that has branches, which produce roots when in contact with soil. Several species develop short and long shoots, the combination of which creates a particular, well-recognisable habit in many species belonging to the sections Lignofelicia and Felicia. All types of unbranched hairs may be found within the genus, including glandular hairs. Felicia has resin ducts. [2]

Leaves

Leaves are mostly alternately set along the stem, but opposite leaves do also occur, most prevalent in the section Neodetris, while in the section Longistylus, many species have opposite leaves in lower parts of the stem and alternately set leaves nearer to the top. Species in the sections Lignofelicia, Anhebecarpaea and Dracontium never have opposite leaves. Leaves are not compounded, and mostly have an entire margin, although in all sections but Anhebecarpaea, some species have leaves with up to moderate size teeth. Further incised leaves are restricted to F. brevifolia and its close relatives in section Lignofelicia. Leaves are generally seated, and their foot may be widened, particularly when these are succulent. Leaves in other species assigned to Lignofelicia may be digit-shaped, not having a recognisable margin. Species with stalked leaves are rare and restricted to the sections Felicia and Neodetris. Each leaf has between one and five primary veins, a number that is directly linked with the width of the leaf blade, and varies on the same plant. Leaves vary in consistency between species from soft to leathery. Resin canals are common in leaves of species of the sections Lignofelicia, Anhebecarpaea and Felicia, but do not occur in the other sections.

Most species have leaves with at least some hairs. Only F. dentata subsp. nubica, F. filifolia, F. fruticosa and F. whitehillensis, and some forms of F. muricata are fully glabrous. On the other end of the spectrum, species in the section Neodetris are particularly hairy. Margins are often more hairy than the rest of the surface, which generally has a cartilageous seam or carries fine stiff bristle-like teeth. [2]

Flowerhead

F. amoena subsp. latifolia, is a taxon which sometimes has a blue disc, but yellow discs are more common Felicia amoena subsp. latifolia dark disc oblique.jpg
F. amoena subsp. latifolia, is a taxon which sometimes has a blue disc, but yellow discs are more common
Felicia filifolia, showing disc florets turning pinkish brown when aging Felicia filifolia Gifberg 01.jpg
Felicia filifolia, showing disc florets turning pinkish brown when aging

The flowerheads have two rows of involucral bracts in almost all species of the section Neodetris (the exceptions being F. cymbalariae, F. denticulata, F. dubia and F. tenera), while the rest of the species have three or four rows of bracts. [2] The communal base (or receptacle) on which the individual florets are implanted is lightly convex and lacks a receptacular bract (or palea) at the foot of each floret. [5] Almost always, one row of female ligulate florets surrounds a centre of several rows of bisexual disc florets. Ligulate florets are sometimes absent in several taxa belonging to the section Lignofelicia (F. filifolia subsp. bodkinii, F. whitehillensis), and in F. macrorrhiza ligulate florets are never present. This is also true for F. ferulacea of the section Felicia. Ligulate florets are mostly bluish purple, particularly in the sections Lignofelicia, Anhebecarpaea and Felicia. In the section Dracontium, the color of the ligulate florets ranges from pale to middle blue, while in the section Neodetris the range of bluish colors is even larger. In these two sections the color is never purplish. Yellowish ligulate florets are restricted to F. mossamedensis and some species in the section Longistylis. In herbarium specimens, colors may change even when dried professionally, such as from bright yellow to green in the aptly named F. smaragdina, from yolk yellow to bright yellow in F. bohmii, and from white to pink in F. welwitschii. Some species across the sections have white ligulate florets, and specimens with white florets occur in many species that usually have bluish ligulate florets. The tube of the florets is often densely set with glandular hairs. Disc florets are yellow when young, and may become reddish later. [2] Few annual species have whitish to dark blue discs such as F. heterophylla, F. josephinae, and a form of F. amoena subsp. latifolia. [5]

Fruit

As in all Asteraceae, the fruit does not open and only one of the compartments contains a single seed. The top of this so-called cypsela is ornamented with a single row of around thirty hair-shaped, 2–10 mm (0.079–0.394 in) long pappus bristles, but only approximately ten bristles in F. bergerana and six to eight in F. annectens. An individual bristle hair consists of many cells and with few to many teeth along its margins. Pappus is particularly long in the section Lignofelicia, such as in F. comptonii, F. heterophylla, F. ovata, F. venusta and F. welwitschii. In this section the long hair is often interspersed with short scales. F. bechuanica and F. dentata (section Felicia) also have conspicuous short scales. Pappus with long barbes nearer to the base and shorter teeth nearer to the top occur in F. tenella and the section Longistylus. A glabrous base and teeth higher up the pappus occurs in the sections Dracontium and Neodetris. The tip of the pappus hair is wider in F. echinata and species in the section Lignofelicia, but mostly ends pointy. In fresh plants, the pappus is mostly white to bone-colored, sometimes yellowish, yellow-brown in F. dentata, although in herbarium specimens stronger colors may develop such as fox-red in F. burkei. Fertilised and fully ripe cypselas may be 1–5 mm (0.039–0.197 in) long, dependent on the species. The color varies from yellow-brown (sections Lignofelicia and Longistylus), red-brown (Anhebecarpaea), dark brown (Dracontium), black (Neodetris), while species of the section Felicia may either be red-brown, dark brown or black. F. ovata has blackish green cypselas. They are ovate to elliptic, flattened, have two extending vascular bundles and are often covered in non-glandular hairs, characters that set Felicia apart from related genera, like Aster. Cypsela hairs in Felicia have a split tip, such as is common among other related genera. The shaft of the hair consists of two parallel series of long cells that are attached to a foot that consist of two short basal cells. When dry, there is a bend joint between the foot and the shaft so that it points up and the hair is more or less pressed against the cypsela. When wet, the joint stretches and the hairs become erect. The cypsela hairs are mostly of uniform thickness, around 0.2 mm (0.0079 in) long, with a short cleft, but some such as F. anthemidodes have very short hairs, while others such as in the section Lignofelicia have languid, silky hairs of up to 2 mm (0.079 in) long. Hairs at the base of the cypsela and on the vascular bundles are often different from the rest. The tip of the hair may be more heavy, making the split tip reminiscent of a set of horns, such as in F. ovata, or the split is not fully executed, such as in the sections Felicia and Neodetris, and the tip may be bullit-like with a furrow, such as in F. clavipilosa. [2]

Sections

Anhebecarpaea

The three species belonging to the section Anhebecarpaea are erect shrublets with overlapping, initially hairy leaves, large heads with hairless purplish ligulate florets and yellow disc florets, set at the tip of the stems in umbel-like inflorescences. The pappus bristles are all equal in length, firm, indehiscent and are set with many teeth, and the cypselas are yellow- to red-brown, those belonging to the ligulate florets hairless, those of the disc florets with short bristles. The three species are endemic to coastal areas of the Western and Eastern Cape. [2]

Dracontium

Species assigned to the section Dracontium are erect perennial herbs, with large leaves in a rosette at ground level and smaller bracts along a not or rarely shyly branched stem that carries one to four large heads with blue ligulate florets and yellow disc florets that are encircled by an involucre consisting of three worls of approximately equal sized bracts. The cypselas are brown, topped with one row of firm indehyscent pappus hairs and covered in short hairs. There are four species that are all restricted to the Drakensberg Mountains. [2]

Felicia

The taxa in the section Felicia may be woody shrublets or annual herb, nearly always with fully alternately set, thin to succulent, mostly narrow, variably hairy leaves, and many to few heads, always with ligulate florets, that are purple to white or seldom yellow, and yellow disc florets that may turn reddish when aging, each head encircled by an involucre of three to four worls of overlapping bracts with resin ducts, the outer bracts clearly smaller. Short triangular style braches entirely set with papillae. Cypselas crowned with one row of soft, equal length, more or less dehyscent pappus hairs, and its surface initially with very short hairs, later often without. The twenty eight species and several subspecies occur in southern Africa, but are concentrated in the south-western Cape. [2]

Lignofelicia

The taxa that are included in the section Lignofelicia are erect, richly branching shrublets or low shrubs, with more or less succulent, mostly hairless (rarely set with simple hairs or glandular hairs), though always with a tuft of wooly hairs in the axils. Branches carry many small heads in the axils and at their tips, which consist of violet ligulate florets, or these may rarely be absent, and yellow disc florets, which may turn reddish with age. These are encircled by an involucre of four worls of bracts containing resin ducts, the outer ones smallest. The relatively large cypselas are crowned with a row of indehyscent teethed hairs of unequal length, and carry long silky hair on their surface. Most of the fifteen species occur in the south and southwestern Cape, few occur in other parts of South Africa, and one also occurs in Namibia. [2]

Longistylus

Felicia echinata Felicia echinata Betty's Bay wide.jpg
Felicia echinata

The section Longistylus consists of erect, branching, annual or biennial plants with oppositely set leaves lower and alternately set leaves nearer the top, both types hairy, lancet-shaped, with entire or toothed margins. Stems carry many, small heads with white or yellow ligulate florets and yellow disc florets, surrounded by an involucre of four worls of bracts. The small cypselas are crowned by pappus that consists of dehyscent, almost feathery bristles. The six species can be found from Namibia to southern Angola, and Zimbabwe through Malawi to Uganda. [2]

Neodetris

The species of the section Neodetris are erect, rarely creeping or hanging annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, mostly with flat, hairy leaves with an etire margin, sometimes with teeth and rarely with hairless or succulent leaves. The flower heads are small to relatively big, with blue or white, sometimes violet ligulate florets and yellow, very rarely reddish brown or dark blue, disc florets encircled by an involucre of two worls of bracts. The pappus that crowns the brown to black, medium size, shortly haired cypselas is mostly dehyscent, and pappus is absent in the ligulate florets. The 31 species are concentrated in the greater Cape area, extending from Lüderitz in Namibia to Durban. [2]

Printzia has tailed anthers and blunt style branches that are only downy at their tips, while Felicia has tail-less anthers and pointy style branches that are downy over the entire length. Garuleum lacks bristles on its cypselas and has finely pinnate leaves, while Felicia has cypselas crowned by one row of hair-like bristles and mostly entire leaves, sometimes with deep cutting teeth. Amellus has pappus consisting of scales and bristles, while Felicia only has bristles. [15] The species of Polyarrhena have a strong likeness to the species of Felicia section Anhebecarpaea, but have bisexual ligulate florets, that are white, and have a pink wash on the outer surface, and male or fully infertile disc florets, while in the section Anhebecarpaea ligulate florets are female and blue-purple in color and the disc florets are bisexual and do set seed. [16]

Habitat and ecology

Many taxa assigned to Felicia occur in fynbos and in the Karoo. Some are sand dune specialists, such as F. amelloides and F. amoena, while others prefer to grow on rocky substrate, like F. petiolata and others in the section Neodetris. The East African annuals can be found in Miombo woodland, while a few, such as F. uliginosa, strongly associate with wet habitats. Further taxa exemplified by F. muricata subsp. cinerascens and the annuals of Namibia are very drought resistant. The taxon density of Felicia reduces from the south-west to the north-east. [2]

Felicia is pollinated by insects such as butterflies, wasps, and bees, and the flowers are also frequented by thrips. Yellow flower crab spiders sometimes use the central disc of the heads, where they are well camouflaged, and wait for insects to wander into their grasp.

Usually, nearly all florets set seed, the involucre will open outward when ripe, and the wind will carry away the easily detaching cypselas, thanks to the hairy pappus. The semiparasitic plant Thesium namaquense , also called poison bush, may infect at least two of the species, F. filifolia and F. muricata, and when these Felicias are browsed repeatedly by the same animal, this may cause poisoning, particularly in sheep. [17]

Related Research Articles

<i>Scolymus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Scolymus is a genus of annual, biennial or perennial, herbaceous plants that is assigned to the family Asteraceae, and can be found in Macaronesia, around the Mediterranean, and in the Middle East. All species are spiny, thistle-like in appearance, with flowerheads that consist of yellow ligulate florets, and canals that contain latex. It is sometimes called golden thistle or oyster thistle, and is known as سكوليمس (skwlyms) in Arabic and scolyme in French.

<i>Scolymus maculatus</i> Species of flowering plant

Scolymus maculatus is a spiny annual plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the Mediterranean region in southern Europe, southwest Asia, and northern Africa, and also the Canary Islands. It has pinnately incised prickly leaves and prickly wings along the stems, both with a white marginal vein. The yellow flowerheads stand solitary or with a few together at the tip to the stems, and subtended by more than five leaflike bracts. The plant is known as scolyme taché in French, cardogna macchiata in Italian, cardo borriquero in Spanish, and escólimo-malhado in Portuguese, חוח עקוד in Hebrew and سنارية حولية in Arabic. In English it is called spotted golden thistle or spotted oyster thistle.

<i>Felicia aethiopica</i> A shrublet in the daisy family from South Africa

Felicia aethiopica is a low shrublet of up to about 50 cm high that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. It has rigid, leathery, inverted egg-shaped leaves, with only the lowest pair set oppositely. It has flower heads with an involucre of about 8 mm in diameter with bracts that each contain three resin ducts, and have one whorl of twelve to fourteen ray florets with about 11 mm long and 1½ mm wide blue straps surrounding many yellow disc florets. The plant is called wild aster or dwarf Felicia in English, and wilde-aster or bloublombossie in Afrikaans. Flowering occurs year-round. Wild aster can be found in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa.

<i>Felicia filifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Felicia filifolia is a Southern African member of the family Asteraceae. It is a hardy, sprawling shrub growing to about 1 metre tall. Leaves are narrow and clustered along the twigs. When blooming it is densely covered in flowerheads with ray florets that are pink-mauve to white and disc florets that are yellow. In the wild, flowers can be found August to December.

<i>Polyarrhena</i> Genus of plants

Polyarrhena is a genus of low, branching shrublets that is assigned to the daisy family. Its stems are alternately and densely set with entire or somewhat toothed leaves. Like in almost all Asteraceae, the individual flowers are 5-merous, small and clustered in typical heads, and which are surrounded by an involucre of in this case three whorls of bracts. In Polyarrhena, the centre of the head is taken by yellow disc florets, and is surrounded by one single whorl of white ligulate florets that have a pinkish-purple wash on the underside. These florets sit on a common base and are not individually subtended by a bract. The species occur in the Cape Floristic Region. Polyarrhena reflexa has long been cultivated as an ornamental and is often known under its synonym Aster reflexum.

<i>Scolymus grandiflorus</i> Species of flowering plant

Scolymus grandiflorus is a spiny annual or biennial plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the Mediterranean region. With up to 75 cm high stems, it is the smallest of the species of Scolymus. Its stems are lined with uninterrupted spiny wings. It also has the largest flowerheads in the genus, of approximately 5 cm wide. It has yellow, sometimes yolk-yellow ligulate florets. Its vernacular name in Maltese is xewk isfar kbir, meaning "large yellow fin", cardogna maggiore in Italian, scoddi on Sicily, and scolyme à grandes fleurs in French.

<i>Felicia echinata</i> Shrublet in the daisy family from South Africa

Felicia echinata, commonly known as the dune daisy or prickly felicia, is a species of shrub native to South Africa belonging to the daisy family. It grows to 1 m (3.3 ft) high and bears blue-purple flower heads with yellow central discs. In the wild, it flowers April to October.

<i>Felicia josephinae</i> An annual plant in the daisy family from South Africa

Felicia josephinae is a roughly hairy annual herbaceous plant of 15–20 cm (6–8 in) high, that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. It branches near its base, and has few leaves along its stems. The lower leaves are set oppositely, inverted lance-shaped, relatively large at 3–7 cm long and ⅔–1¼ cm wide, and soon withering, while the higher ones are smaller and relatively narrower. In the axils of the leaves grow flower heads of 7–8 mm wide on stalks of up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long, topped with an involucre of about 5 mm (0.20 in) high and 4 mm (0.16 in) wide, consisting of eleven to thirteen bracts in two rows with bristles near the tip, eight to nine white or cream-coloured ligulate florets surrounding fourteen or fifteen deep purple disc florets. Flowers can be found in September and October. The species is an endemic species that can only be found in a small area along the west coast of the Western Cape province of South Africa.

<i>Felicia heterophylla</i> A perennial plant in the daisy family from South Africa

Felicia heterophylla is a roughly hairy annual plant in the family Asteraceae. It has alternate leaves of 1–5 cm long with an entire margin or few inconspicuous teeth. The flower heads are set individually at the tip of its stems, and contain a whorl of purplish blue ray florets around a center of blackish blue disk florets. Flower heads appear in winter and spring. It is called true-blue daisy in English and bloublomastertjie in Afrikaans. It is an endemic species that only occurs in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

<i>Felicia cymbalariae</i> Perennial plant in the daisy family from South Africa

Felicia cymbalariae, is a hairy perennial herbaceous plant of up to 30 cm (12 in) high in the family Asteraceae. It has creeping branches that bend upwards, stalked leaves of up to 6 × 4½ cm (2.4 × 1.8 in) with few teeth or nearly entire. The flower heads are set individually on top of up to 8 cm (3 in) long stalks and contain about sixteen white ray florets of about 6 × 1½ mm around a center with many yellow or dark wine red disc florets. It can be found in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Flower heads can be found between September and June.

<i>Felicia canaliculata</i> A shrublet in the daisy family from South Africa

Felicia canaliculata is a grayish green shrublet in the family Asteraceae that grows up to 40 cm (16 in) in height. It has narrow, awl-shaped leaves, relatively large flower heads with approximately a dozen light purple to white ray florets encircling many yellow disc florets. It can only be found in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

<i>Felicia macrorrhiza</i> A shrublet in the daisy family from South Africa

Felicia macrorrhiza is a small, evergreen shrub in the family Asteraceae. This species grows in the Karoo region of South Africa. It is called Aspoestertjie in Afrikaans.

<i>Felicia oleosa</i> A shrublet in the daisy family from South Africa

Felicia oleosa is an evergreen, richly branched dwarf shrub of up to 30 cm (12 in) high, that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. It has narrow, awl-shaped leaves, with translucent oil or resin dots, pointing upwards, crowded on the younger stems. The flower heads have about thirteen bright blue ray florets, encircling many yellow disc florets. This species grows in the mountains dividing the Karoo region of South Africa. It is sometimes called oily blue daisy in English.

<i>Felicia dregei</i> A shrublet in the daisy family from South Africa

Felicia dregei is an evergreen, glandular shrub of up to 11⁄2 m (5 ft) high, that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. It has flat, finely felty, grayish green, narrowly elliptic to lance-shaped leaves of up to 4 cm long and 8 mm wide, with an entire margin or here and there with up to ten teeth. The flower heads have about ten violet ray florets, encircling many yellow disc florets. This species grows in the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa.

<i>Felicia amoena</i> A perennial or biennial plant in the daisy family from South Africa

Felicia amoena is a variably hairy, sometimes glandular, biennial or perennial plant, of about 25 cm (10 in) high, that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. It is somewhat woody at its base, roots at the nodes if these contact the soil, and has ascending branches. The leaves are oppositely arranged along the stems at and just above a branching fork, further up the leaves alternate. The flower heads sit individually on up to 12 cm long stalks. They are 2–3 cm in diameter and consist of about twelve to twenty five heavenly blue ray florets that surround many yellow disc florets. Three subspecies have been recognised, that differ in width of the leaves and the involucral bracts, the size of the heads and number of ray florets and in having glandular hairs. These can be found in coastal sands and inland areas in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. Flower heads can be found from June till October.

<i>Felicia bellidioides</i> A perennial plant in the daisy family from South Africa

Felicia bellidioides is a perennial plant of up to about 25 cm (10 in) high, that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. Most of the narrowly inverted egg-shaped leaves are silky hairy and in a basal rosette with no or few very narrow bracts on the stalk in the subspecies bellidioides. In the subspecies foliosa, the narrower leaves are not silky hairy but variously bristly and glandular, with more and larger bracts on the inflorescence stalk. The flowerheads sit individually on top of a long peduncle and consist of an involucre with only two worls of bracts, about twenty purplish blue ray florets, surrounding many yellow disc florets. It occurs in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Felicia annectens is an annual plant of up to about 25 cm (10 in) high, that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. The lower leaves are opposite and the higher leaves alternate. The bloated involucre consists of very broad, hairless bracts. These protect up to ten, short, bluish ray florets that encircle yellow, partly sterile disc florets. The heads sit individually on top of up to 6 cm long stalks. The species was considered extinct after no observations were made after 1915, but was rediscovered in the 21st century. It occurs in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

<i>Felicia bergeriana</i> A annual plant in the daisy family from South Africa

Felicia bergeriana is a richly branching, hairy annual plant of up to 25 cm (10 in) high that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. It has opposite leaves and flower heads set individually on up to 8 cm long stalks, that consist of an involucre of about 1⁄2 cm diameter with two whorls of bracts, about twelve blue ray florets surrounding more yellow disc florets. It is sometimes called kingfisher daisy in English. It can be found in the Northern and Western Cape provinces of South Africa. It is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental.

Felicia cana is a low and slender shrublet of up to 15 cm high, covered in white felty hairs, that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. It has alternately arranged leaves, and flower heads of about 16 mm (0.63 in) across, with 3–4 whorls of involucral bracts, and about 20 blue purple ray florets, surrounding many yellow disc florets in the centre. Very characteristic for the species are also the middle-long hairs with forked tips on the surface of its fruits. It is an endemic species that is restricted to a zone along the southern coast of the Western Cape province of South Africa.

<i>Felicia tenella</i> A annual or biennial plant in the daisy family from South Africa

Felicia tenella is an annual, sometimes biennial, herbaceous plant that may be slightly woody at its base, of 5–70 cm tall, that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. The species is very variable in size and hairiness. Its branches may be erect or ascending, and the leaves are narrowly line-shaped, 2–5 cm long and about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. The leaves have a callous tip, lack visible nerves, and are mostly rigidly ciliate. The flower heads sit individually at the tip of stalks, have an involucre of three whorls of bracts, and about thirty light blue ray florets surrounding many yellow disc florets. Four subspecies are recognised. The species naturally occurs in the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa.

References

  1. ↑ "Felicia Cass". Tropicos.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Grau, J. (1973). "Revision der Gattung Felicia (Asteraceae)". Mitteilungen der Botanischer Staatssammlung München. IX: 195–705. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  3. ↑ Beentje, H.J. (1999). "A New Genus and Some New Species of Compositae from East Tropical Africa". Kew Bulletin. 54 (1): 97–102. doi:10.2307/4111026. JSTOR   4111026.
  4. ↑ Ortiz, Santiago (2007). "A new species of Felicia L. (Asteraceae, Astereae) from South Africa". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 154 (4): 545–548. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2007.00672.x .
  5. 1 2 3 Manning, J.C.; Goldblatt, P. (2002). "A Distinctive New Species of Felicia (Asteraceae) from Western Cape, South-Africa". Bothalia. 32 (2): 193–195. doi: 10.4102/abc.v32i2.486 .
  6. 1 2 Manning, J.C.; Maggee, A.R.; Boatwright, J.S. (2018). "Felicia douglasii (Asteraceae-Astereae), a distinctive new species from the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa". South African Journal of Botany. 114: 188–191. doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2017.11.005 . hdl: 10566/3302 .
  7. ↑ Greuter, Werner; Flann, C.M. (2010). "(1961-1963) Proposals to conserve Chrysopsis, nom. cons., against Diplopappus, Felicia, nom. cons., against Coelestina, Agathaea, and Charieis, and the name Fulcaldea against Turpinia, nom. rej. (Compositae)". Taxon . 59 (4): 1206–1244. doi:10.1002/tax.594031.
  8. ↑ Mari Mut, José A. (2017–2019). Plant genera named after people (1753-1853) (PDF). Ediciones Digitales. Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ↑ Brouillet, Luc; Anderberg, Arne A.; Nesom, Guy L.; Lowrey, Timothy K.; Urbatsch, Lowell E. (2009). "Welwitschiella is a member of the African subtribe Grangeinae (Asteraceae Astereae): a new phylogenetic position based on ndhf and ITS sequence data". Kew Bulletin. 64 (4): 645–660. doi:10.1007/s12225-009-9164-9. JSTOR   27821984. S2CID   707691.
  10. ↑ Brouillet, Luc; Lowrey, Timothy K.; Urbatsch, Lowell; Karaman-Castro, Vesna; Sancho, Gisela; Wagstaff, Steve; Semple, John C. (2009). "37 - Astereae". In Funk, V.A; A. Susanna; T. Stuessy; R. Bayer (eds.). Systematics, Evolution and Biogeography of the Compositae. Vienna, Austria: IAPT. pp. 449–490. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  11. ↑ "Aster caffrorum Less". Tropicos.
  12. ↑ "Felicia monticola Compton". Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
  13. ↑ "Felicia pinnatifida J.M.Wood & M.S.Evans". Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
  14. ↑ "Felicia rigidula". JSTOR.
  15. ↑ Vlok, Jan; Schutte-Vlok, Anne Lise (2015). Plants of the Klein Karoo (2nd ed.). Hatfield, South-Africa: Umdaus Press.
  16. ↑ Grau, J. (1970). "Die Gattung Polyarrhena Cass. (Asteraceae — Asterinae)" (PDF). Mitteilungen der Botanischer Staatssammlung München. VII: 347–368. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  17. ↑ "Felicia amelloides". SANBI.
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