Erechtites

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Campanulids
Ordo: Asterales

Familia: Asteraceae
Subfamilia: Asteroideae
Tribus: Senecioneae
Subtribus: Senecioninae
Genus: Erechtites
Species: E. apargiifolius – E. atkinsoniae – E. bathurstianus – E. bukaensis – E. diversifolius – E. glabrescens – E. glomeratus – E. glossanthus – E. goyazensis – E. gunnii – E. hieraciifolius – E. hispidulus – E. ignobilis – E. kermadecensis – E. laceratus – E. leptanthus – E. minimus – E. misionum – E. picridioides – E. prenanthoides – E. quadridentatus – E. runcinatus – E. scaberulus – E. sonchoides – E. tenuiflorus – E. valerianifolius – E. wairauensis
Source(s) of checklist:
Name

Erechtites Raf., Fl. Ludov. 65. 1817 (Art. 62.4. ICN: masculine)

Type species: Erechtites praealtus Raf.

Synonyms

Homotypic
Senecio sect. Erechtites (Raf.) Baill., Hist. Pl. 8: 260. 1882.

Note: This page is a taxonomic opinion of Erechtites s.l. (Tropicos, 2018) and its acceptance is not consensual (Hassler, 2018, APC, 2018 & TPL, 2018).
References

Raf. 1817. Florula Ludoviciana, or, a flora of the state of . . . 65.
Thompson, I.R. 2006. A taxonomic treatment of tribe Senecioneae (Asteraceae) in Australia. Muelleria 24: 51–110. Reference page.
Erechtites in: Australian Plant Census (APC) 2018. IBIS database, Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria. Accessed: 2018 Apr. 5.
Hassler, M. 2018. Erechtites. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Feb. 27. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Erechtites. Published online. Accessed: Feb. 27 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Erechtites in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Feb. 27.
Tropicos.org 2018. Erechtites. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Feb. 27.

Vernacular names
English: Fireweeds, Burnweeds

Erechtites is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family known commonly as fireweeds or burnweeds. They are native to the Americas and Australia,[3][4] but some species are widely distributed weeds.[3][5][6]

Some species in this genus are treated as members of Senecio by some authors, and several other species are considered variants of Erechtites hieraciifolius, so there may be as few as 5 distinct species in this genus. In particular, not all authors agree on whether to include a dozen or so species native to Australia and New Zealand in Erechtites.[7][8] For the purposes of the list below, we follow the lead of The Plant List maintained by Kew Gardens in London.[1]

Erechtites consists of annual or perennial herbs with large taproots and very often with a pungent odor. Leaves are usually ovate or lanceolate (sometimes pinnately lobed or pinnatifid). Flower heads may sometimes contain as many as 100 yellow or white (rarely pink) disc florets but no ray florets.[3]

Species[1]

Erechtites glomeratus (Desf. ex Poir.) DC. - Australia[9]
Erechtites goyazensis (Gardner) Cabrera - South America
Erechtites hieraciifolius (L.) Raf. ex DC. - North America, South America, West Indies, Australia, New Zealand; naturalized in Asia[10][11]
Erechtites ignobilis Baker - Brazil
Erechtites leptanthus (Phil.) Cabrera - Chile
Erechtites minimus (Poir.) DC. - Australia[12]
Erechtites missionis Malme - South America
Erechtites runcinatus (Less.) DC. - Mexico
Erechtites valerianifolius (Wolf) DC. - Mexico, South America, Central America

The genus name Erechtites is considered masculine by some botanists and feminine by others. Hence some species names may end in "-us" or "-a," for example, Erechtites valerianifolius versus E. valerianifolia. International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Art. 62.4) specifies that generic names ending in "-ites" are to be treated as masculine, hence the "-us" ending in such cases is to be preferred over the "-a" ending.[3][13]
References

The Plant List search for Erechtites
Tropicos, Erechtites Raf.
"Erechtites Rafinesque". Flora of North America.
Coleman, M.; Liston, A.; Kadereit, J. W.; Abbott, R. J. (2003). "Repeat intercontinental dispersal and Pleistocene speciation in disjunct Mediterranean and desert Senecio (Asteraceae)". American Journal of Botany. 90 (10): 1446–54. doi:10.3732/ajb.90.10.1446. PMID 21659096.
"Erechtites hieraciifolius (L.) Raf. ex DC". Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER).
"Erechtites valerianifolia (Wolf) DC". Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER).
Erechtites Hieracifolia. Fireweed., Drugs and Medicines of North America, 1884-1887 by John Uri Lloyd and Curtis G. Lloyd. Online edition by Henriette Kress, 2002-2009
Jepson Manual Treatment
Atlas of Living Australia, Senecio glomeratus Desf. ex Poir., Cluster-headed Fireweed
Biota of North America Program, Senecio hieraciifolius
Flora of China, 梁子菜 liang zi cai Erechtites hieraciifolius (Linnaeus) Rafinesque ex Candolle
Atlas of Living Australia, Senecio minimus Poir., Toothed Fireweed
International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code) article 62.4