Felicia aethiopica

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Felicia aethiopica
Felicia aethiopicia vBerkel 2.jpg
Felicia aethiopica subsp. ecklonis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Felicia
Section: Felicia sect. Neodetris
Species:
F. aethiopica
Binomial name
Felicia aethiopica
Subspecies
Synonyms
  • Aster aethiopicus, Aster capensis
  • Agathaea microphylla, Cineraria microphylla
  • Cineraria trachyphylla
  • Agathaea kraussii, Agathaea amelloides β kraussii, Aster kraussii
  • Aster aethiopicus var. glandulosus

Felicia aethiopica is a low shrublet of up to about 50 cm (1+23 ft) 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 (13 in) 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. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Description

Felicia aethiopica subsp. aethiopica is a low, up to 50 cm (1+23 ft) high, branched shrublet. Its shoots are loosely hairy to glandular. The lower stems are covered by reddish bark. The rigidly leathery leaves mostly set alternately along the stems, only those at base are oppositely set (rarely also higher on the shoot opposite), usually standing out at a straight angle, those lower on the stem even often weakly descending. The leaves are narrow to broadly elliptic to inverted egg-shaped, 5–20 mm (1545 in) long and 2–8 mm (0.079–0.315 in) wide, with rolled down margins, hairless to strong bristly hairy and glandular, and anything intermediate. [2]

The flower heads sit individually on the clearly distinguished inflorescence stalks that are mostly richly glandular near the top. The bracts surrounding the head that jointly form the involucre of up to 8 mm (13 in) in diameter, are arranged in two whorls. The bracts of the inner whorl are Inverted lance-shaped, about 5 mm (0.20 in) long and 1 mm (0.039 in) wide, ribbed, and a little bristly. The outer bracts are lance-shaped, about 6 mm (0.24 in) long and 1 mm wide, with three sunken resin ducts, and consistent with the indumentum of the leaves, variously bristly hairy or also glandular. About twelve to fourteen female ray florets have a blue strap of ligula of about 11 mm (0.43 in) long and 1½ mm (0.06 in) wide, blue. These surround many bisexual, disc florets with a yellow corolla of about 4 mm (0.16 in) long. In the center of each corolla are five free filaments and five anthers merged into a tube, through which the style grows when the floret opens, hoovering up the pollen on its shaft. At the tip of both style branches is a triangular appendage. Around the base of the corolla is one whorl of vigorous, equally long, white, shortly toothed, but smooth at their base, largely persistent pappus bristles of about 4 mm (0.16 in) long. The eventually black, dry, one-seeded, indehiscent fruits called cypselae are inverted egg-shaped to elliptic, about 3 mm (0.12 in) long and 1½ mm (0.06 in) wide, have a ridge along the outline, are hairless or rarely have a few bristles near the top, and a further smooth seedskin. [2]

Felicia aethiopica subsp. ecklonis differs in having entirely hairy cypselae. [2]

Felicia aethiopica is often confused with Felicia amoena and Felicia amelloides . F. aethiopica is a woody shrublet with mostly only the lowest pair of leaves opposite and the remainder alternate, twelve to fourteen ray florets and also can be distinguished by the three resin ducts in the involucral bracts, that lack in both other species. F. amoena is a biennial or perennial plant with at least the lowest four to six leaves in pairs as well as those at each branching, and the remainder alternate and may have up to twenty five ray florets. F. amelloides is a mostly perennial plant with all its leaves in pairs and about twelve ray florets. [2]

Taxonomy

The wild aster was first described in 1768 by Nicolaas Laurens Burman, based on a specimen in the herbarium collection of his father, the Dutch botanist and physician Johannes Burman, that had been collected at Caput Bonae Spei, a term used for the southwest of the Cape Province. He named it Aster aethiopicus. Henri Cassini in 1817 described Agathaea microphylla. In 1822, Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel described Cineraria trachyphylla. In 1832, Christian Friedrich Lessing described Aster ecklonis. He also described Aster capensis, based on a herbarium sheet that contains one twig of Felicia aethiopica and two twigs of F. amelloides, and this has since created much confusion. Cassini's taxon was reassigned to the genus Cineraria by Jens Vahl, who created the combination C. microphylla in 1836. Carl Heinrich "Bipontinus" Schultz described a slightly different plant in 1843, calling it Agathaea kraussii, but he demoted it a year later to Agathaea amelloides β kraussii. In 1865, William Henry Harvey, reassigned Schultz's taxon to Aster, creating A. kraussii, but he also described Aster aethiopicus var. glandulosus. Bolus and Anthony Hurt Wolley-Dod assign the species to the genus Felicia in 1950, creating the combination Felicia aethiopica. Jürke Grau in his 1973 Revision of the genus Felicia (Asteraceae), considered tall these names synonymous, except for Aster ecklonisLess., that he considered a subspecies, calling it F. aethiopica subsp. ecklonis. The species is considered to be part of the section Neodetris. [2]

The species name Latin aethiopica is a Latin word meaning "relating to Ethiopia or Africa in general". [6]

Distribution, habitat and ecology

Felicia aethiopica subsp. aethiopica has the smaller distribution of the subspecies. It is restricted to the Cape Peninsula, the Kogelberg area, the neighborhood of Hermanus and Gansbaai, the Potberg and near Swellendam. Subsp. ecklonis stretches from the Cedarberg in the north via the mountains near Porterville to Riviersonderend and Witsand to Natal. [2] It grows on sandy or rocky flats and slopes. [4] [6]

Conservation

The continued survival of both subspecies of Felicia aethiopica is considered to be of least concern because their populations are stable. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

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

Felicia amelloides, the blue daisy bush or blue felicia, is a hairy, soft, usually perennial, evergreen plant, in the family Asteraceae. It can be found along the southern coast of South Africa. It grows as ground cover and produces many very regular branches. It mostly grows to about 50 cm (1.6 ft) high, rarely to 1 m. The leaves are oppositely arranged along the stems, dark green in colour and elliptic in shape. The flower heads sit individually on up to 18 cm (7 in) long, green to dark reddish stalks. They consist of about twelve heavenly blue ray florets that surround many yellow disc florets, together measuring about 3 cm across. It is also cultivated as an ornamental, and was introduced in Europe in the middle of the 18th century.

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

Felicia dregei is an evergreen, glandular shrub of up to 112 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 namaquana</i> A annual plant in the daisy family from Namibia and South Africa

Felicia namaquana is a glandular-hairy, branching annual plant of up to 25 cm (10 in) high that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. It is sometimes called Bloublommetjie or pers poublom in Afrikaans. Flowering occurs between May and October. It grows in Namibia and South Africa.

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

Felicia elongata is a perennial plant of up to 40 cm high that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. It has stiff, oval, opposing leaves with one distinctive vein and entire margin. The 5 cm (2 in) wide flower heads are very conspicuous in colour, white with a dark purple zone at the base of the ray florets and an orange-yellow disc. Flowering occurs from late August to September, or if the rains arrive late, sometimes October. It is a rare species that is restricted to the Saldanha Bay area. It is sometimes called Saldanha felicia or tricolour felicia in English, and driekleurblommetjie in Afrikaans.

<i>Felicia rosulata</i> A perennial plant in the daisy family from Southern Africa

Felicia rosulata is a hairy, perennial, herbaceous plant of up to 30 cm (1 ft) high, that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. It has a rosette of elliptic 8 cm × 2 cm leaves with 3–5 veins, and long, hairy stalks, each topped with one floral head consisting of about thirty middle blue ray florets encircling many yellow disc florets. It can be found in the mountains of Lesotho, eastern South Africa and Eswatini.

<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 wrightii is a low, up to 20 cm (8 in) high, perennial, herbaceous plant with conspicuous basal leaf rosettes, and runners that end in rosettes. It has narrow bracts along the inflorescence stalks on top of which are individual flower heads with an involucre of three whorls of bracts, about sixteen ray florets with about 1 cm long, pale blue straps, that encircle many yellow disc florets. No fertile seeds have been found, so this species may solely reproduce vegetatively. The species is only known from one location in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, where it grows on damp stream banks.

<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 12 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 clavipilosa is an upright, richly branched shrub of up to 60 cm (2 ft) high, that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. It has alternately arranged leaves, and flower heads with 3–4 whorls of involucral bracts with many yellow disc florets in the centre. Very characteristic for the species are the short club-shaped hairs on its fruits. There are two subspecies. Subsp. clavipilosa has narrowly lance-shaped entire leaves with one vein and pale mauve ray florets. Subspecies transvaalensis has lance-shaped leaves with one or three veins and white ray florets. The species occurs in southern Africa, with subsp. clavipilosa having a western distribution in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, and subsp. transvaalensis restricted to the east, from Zimbabwe, through Botswana to South Africa. The subspecies transvaalensis is sometimes called pokkiesblom in Afrikaans.

<i>Felicia mossamedensis</i> A plant in the daisy family from southern Africa

Felicia mossamedensis or yellow felicia is a well-branched, roughly hairy, annual or perennial plant of up to 30 cm (1 ft) high, assigned to the family Asteraceae. It has alternately arranged, seated, flat to slightly succulent, broad-based, entire, blunt tipped leaves. The flower heads sit individually on top of a stalk of up to 8 cm (3 in) long, have an involucre of three whorls of bracts, many yellow ray florets and many yellow disk florets. It can be found in southern Africa, in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Eswatini, South Africa and on the coast of Angola.

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.

<i>Felicia</i> (plant) Genus of shrublets, perennials and annuals in the daisy family

Felicia is a genus of small shrubs, perennial or annual herbaceous plants, with 85 known species, that is assigned to the daisy family. 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 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 and are not individually subtended by a bract. 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 and 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.

References

  1. "Felicia aethiopica (Burm.f.) Bolus & Wolley-Dod ex Adamson & T.M.Salt". World Register of marine Species.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Grau, J. (1973). "Revision der Gattung Felicia (Asteraceae)". Mitteilungen der Botanischer Staatssammlung München. IX: 503–510. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  3. Olivia Pekeur. "Felicia aethiopica". SANBI PlantZAfrica.
  4. 1 2 "Felicia aethiopica subsp. aethiopica". Fernkloof Natrue Reserve.
  5. Manning, John (2007). Filed Guide to Fynbos. Cape Town: Struik Nature.
  6. 1 2 "Felicia aethiopica". CasaBio.
  7. "Felicia aethiopica subsp. aethiopica". SANBI Red List of South African Plants.
  8. "Felicia aethiopica subsp. ecklonis". SANBI Red List of South African Plants.