Melanthera

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: Heliantheae
Subtribus: Ecliptinae
Genus: Melanthera
Species: M. angustifolia – M. elliptica – M. felicis – M. latifolia – M. lifuana – M. nivea – M. orientalis – M. parvifolia – M. rhombifolia – M. richardsiae – M. robinsonii – M. robusta

Name

Melanthera Rohr, Skr. Naturhist.-Selsk. 2(1): 213–214. (1792)

Type species: Melanthera panduriformis Cass. vide Melanthera nivea (L.) Small, Fl. S.E. U.S. [Small]. 1251, 1340. (1903)

Synonyms

Amellus P.Browne nom. rej., non Amellus L
Melananthera Michx. orth. var.
Echinocephalum Gardner

Note: Circumscription s.s. and now follows Orchard (2013) & Hassler (2018)
References

Rohr 1792. Skrifter af Naturhistorie-Selskabet 2(1): 213–214.
Hassler, M. 2018. Melanthera. 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. 01. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Melanthera. Published online. Accessed: Feb. 01 2018.
Orchard, A.E. 2013. The Wollastonia/Melanthera/Wedelia generic complex (Asteraceae: Ecliptinae), with particular reference to Australia and Malesia. Nuytsia 23: 337-466. Full text PDF Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2018. Melanthera. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Feb. 01.
Wagner, W.L. & Robinson, H.E. 2001. Lipochaeta and Melanthera (Asteraceae: Heliantheae subtribe Ecliptinae): establishing their natural limits and a synopsis. Brittonia 53(4): 539-61. Full text PDF Reference page.

Links

Melanthera Rohr – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). out of date
IUCN link: Melanthera threatened species
Melanthera – Taxon details on National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

Vernacular names
English: Squarestem

Melanthera, squarestem,[5] is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae, native to North and South America, as well as Africa, Asia and Oceania, including Hawaiʻi.[6][7][8][9][10]

The generic name means "black anther."[11]

The most common species of this genus is Melanthera biflora, found in the coastal areas and islands of the tropical belt of the Indo-Pacific region.[12] Together with Portulaca oleracea, Ipomoea pes-caprae and Digitaria ciliaris, Melanthera biflora is usually one of the first species colonizing degraded or altered environments in tropical zones of the planet.[13]

Despite their general hardiness, leaves of Melanthera species are often attacked by rusts such as Uromyces columbianus and Uromyces martinii.[14]

Taxonomy

There are difficulties regarding the classification of this genus for its affinities are uncertain. Further studies are needed to clarify its taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships.[15][16]
Species

This is a list of species.[1][17]

Melanthera abyssinica (Sch.Bip. ex A.Rich.) Vatke - tropical Africa from Ethiopia to Tanzania + Sierra Leone
Melanthera angustifolia A.Rich. - Central America, Cuba, Yucatán, Bahamas, southern Florida
Melanthera biflora (L.) Wild. Indo-Pacific
Melanthera bryanii (Sherff) W.L.Wagner & H.Rob. – Pili Nehe; Hawaiʻi
Melanthera buchii Urb. - Haiti
Melanthera cinerea Schweinf. ex Schweinf. - Africa
Melanthera discoidea S.F.Blake - Amazonas State in Brazil
Melanthera elliptica O.Hoffm. - central Africa
Melanthera fauriei (H. Lév.) W.L.Wagner & H.Rob. – Olokele Canyon Nehe; Hawaiʻi
Melanthera felicis C.D.Adams - Guinea in West Africa
Melanthera gambica Hutch. & Dalziel - Gambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau in West Africa
Melanthera hastata (Walt.) Rich. - Michoacán in Mexico, Islas de la Bahía in Honduras, Bahamas, El Salvador
Melanthera integrifolia (Nutt.) W.L.Wagner & H.Rob. – Kure Atoll Nehe; Hawaiʻi
Melanthera kamolensis (O.Deg.) & Sherff) W.L.Wagner & H.Rob. – Maui Nehe; Mauʻi
Melanthera latifolia (Gardner) Cabrera - Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina
Melanthera lavarum (Gaudich.) W.L. Wagner & H.Rob. – Coastal Nehe; Hawaiʻi.
Melanthera micrantha (Nutt.) W.L.Wagner & H.Rob. - Hawaiʻi
Melanthera nivea (L.) Small – Pineland Squarestem, Snow Squarestem, Yerba de Cabra; SE United States (LA MS AL GA FL SC TN KY IL),[18] Caribbean, Mexico (from Tamaulipas to Quintana Roo), Central America, South America (Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guianas, northern Brazil)
Melanthera parvifolia Small – Small-leaf Squarestem - southern Florida
Melanthera perdita (Sherff) W.L.Wagner & H.Rob. – Koʻokoʻolau; Hawaiʻi
Melanthera populifolia (Sherff) W.L. Wagner & H.Rob. – Grassland Nehe; Hawaiʻi
Melanthera prostrata (Hemsl.) W.L.Wagner & H.Rob. - China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam[19]
Melanthera pungens Oliv. & Hiern - tropical Africa
Melanthera remyi (A.Gray) W.L.Wagner & H.Rob. – Annual Nehe; Hawaiʻi
Melanthera scandens (Schumach.) Roberty[20]
Melanthera rhombifolia O.Hoffm. & Muschl. - West Africa
Melanthera richardsae Wild - tropical Africa
Melanthera robinsonii Wild - tropical Africa
Melanthera robusta (Makino) K.Ohashi & H.Ohashi - Japan, Taiwan
Melanthera scaberrima Hiern - Angola
Melanthera scandens (Schumach. & Thonn.) Roberty - tropical Africa
Melanthera subcordata (A.Gray) W.L.Wagner & H.Rob. - Hawaiʻi
Melanthera tenuifolia (A.Gray) W.L.Wagner & H.Rob. – Waianae Range Nehe; Oʻahu
Melanthera tenuis (O.Deg. & Sherff) W.L.Wagner & H.Rob. – Streambed Nehe; Hawaiʻi
Melanthera triternata (Klatt) Wild - southern Africa
Melanthera venosa (Sherff) W.L. Wagner & H.Rob. – Spreading Nehe; Hawaiʻi
Melanthera waimeaensis (H.St.John) W.L. Wagner & H.Rob. – Waimea Canyon Nehe; Kauaʻi

References

Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist Archived 2014-11-06 at archive.today
"Genus Melanthera". Taxonomy. UniProt. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
"Genus: Melanthera Rohr". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 1996-09-17. Archived from the original on 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
"GRIN - Genus: Wollastonia DC. ex Decne". Archived from the original on 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
"Melanthera". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
Rohr, Julius Philip Benjamin von. 1792. Skrifter af Naturhistorie-Selskabet 2(1): 213–214
Davidse, G., M. Sousa-Peña, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera. 2015. Asteraceae. 5(2): ined. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez, S. Knapp & F. Chiang Cabrera (eds.) Flora Mesoamericana. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F..
Parks, J. C. 1973. A revision of North American and Caribbean Melanthera (Compositae). Rhodora 75: 169–210.
Pruski, J.F. 1997. Asteraceae. 3: 177–393. In J. A. Steyermark, P. E. Berry & B. K. Holst (eds.) Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis
Wild, H. 1965. The African species of the genus Melanthera Rohr. Kirkia 5: 1–17
Flora of North America Vol. 21 Page 123 Melanthera Rohr, Skr. Naturhist.-Selsk. 2: 213. 1792.
Response of Melanthera biflora to Salinity and Water Stress[dead link]
Heatwole, H., Done, T., Cameron, E. Community Ecology of a Coral Cay, A Study of One-Tree Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Series: Monographiae Biologicae, Vol. 43, p. 102
George Baker Cummins (1978). Rust Fungi on Legumes and Composites in North America. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0-8165-0653-1.
Phylogenetic relationships of subtribe Ecliptinae - American Journal of Botany
Orchard, Anthony E. 2013. The Wollastonia/Melanthera/Wedelia generic concept (Asteraceae:Ecliptinae), with particular reference to Australia and Malesia. Nuytsia 23:337-466 (as Acunniana procumbens (DC.) Orchard),
"Melanthera". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution map
Flora of China, Vol. 20-21 Page 871 卤地菊 lu di ju Melanthera prostrata (Hemsley) W. L. Wagner & H. Robinson, Brittonia. 53: 557. 2002.
"GRIN Species Records of Melanthera". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2011-02-14.