Phoebanthus

Phoebanthus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Subfamily:	Asteroideae
Tribe:	Heliantheae
Subtribe:	Helianthinae
Genus:	Phoebanthus S.F.Blake
Type species
Phoebanthus grandiflorus (Torr. & A.Gray) S.F.Blake

Phoebanthus, called false sunflower, is a genus of North American plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae. ^{[1] [2]}

Phoebanthus includes two species of herbaceous perennials that are both native to the southeastern United States The genus is a close relative of Helianthus , the genus of the common sunflower, and the plants have the general appearance of a sunflower.

Taxonomy

Phoebanthus is characterized by having a pappus of short scales that are usually persistent (don't fall off) compared to the pappus of two deciduous awns (and sometimes a few scales) in Helianthus , and Phoebanthus is also characterized by a distinctive type of slender, horizontal tuber that forms the perennating organ.

Species ^{[3] [4] [5]}

• Phoebanthus tenuifolius is a diploid that occurs in a relatively small area in the panhandle area of Florida, where it occurs in only 4 counties (Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf, and Liberty) and it is listed by the state as a "Threatened Species". It has also been reported from Escambia County in Alabama. ^[6]
• Phoebanthus grandiflorus is a tetraploid that occurs in peninsular Florida where it has a somewhat broader distribution from Clay and Alachua counties in the north as far south as the area just north of Lake Okeechobee.

The relationship between the two species has never been closely analyzed, but it does not appear that P. grandiflorus is simply an autotetraploid of P. tenuifolius. ^[7]

References

1. Blake, Sydney Fay. 1916. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 51(10): 520–521 description in Latin, commentary in English
2. Tropicos, Phoebanthus S.F. Blake
3. Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist
4. Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps
5. Flora of North America Vol. 21 Page 113 False sunflower, Phoebanthus S. F. Blake, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts. 51: 520. 1916.
6. Alabama Plant Atlas Editorial Committee. 2014. Alabama Plant Atlas. [S.M. Landry and K.N. Campbell (original application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research. University of South Florida]. University of West Alabama, Livingston, Alabama.
7. Schilling, E. E., C. R. Linder, R. D. Noyes, and L. H. Rieseberg. 1998. Phylogenetic relationships in Helianthus (Asteraceae) based on nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region sequence data. Systematic Botany 23: 177-187.

External links

• online treatment of Phoebanthus in the ISB Atlas of Florida Plants (includes photos and county maps of both species)