373. Florestina Cassini, Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris. 1817: 11. 1817.
[No etymology given; possibly from Latin floreus, of flowers, and tina, a wine vessel; perhaps alluding to sometimes purplish involucres]
John L. Strother
Annuals [perennials], 10–60 cm. Stems erect, branched (mostly distally). Leaves cauline; opposite (proximal) or alternate (mostly); mostly petiolate; blades (3- or 5-nerved) simple (proximal and distal) or (mid-cauline) 3- or 5-lobed or -foliolate; blades or leaflets broadly to narrowly oblong to ovate, ultimate margins entire, faces sparsely to moderately scabrous (hairs white, antrorse, 0.3–0.7 mm), usually gland-dotted as well. Heads discoid, in ± corymbiform to paniculiform arrays. Involucres obconic to subhemispheric, 3–6+ mm diam. Phyllaries falling, 4–14 in 1–2 series (obovate to oblanceolate, subequal, thin-herbaceous, margins scarious, sometimes purplish). Receptacles concave to convex, knobby or smooth (sometimes minutely setose or hairy), epaleate. Ray florets 0. Disc florets 10–30+, bisexual, fertile; corollas whitish, sparsely glandular-hairy, tubes longer than funnelform throats, lobes 5, lance-linear (often unequal). Cypselae obpyramidal, 4-angled, faces sometimes ribbed, sparsely hairy (hairs curled); pappi persistent, of 8–12 (distinct) spatulate to lanceolate [suborbiculate], medially thickened, laterally scarious scales in 1 series (some, all, or the alternate aristate). x = 12.
Species 8 (1 in the flora): Texas, Mexico, Central America.
Florestinas are closely related to, perhaps congeneric with, palafoxias.
SELECTED REFERENCE
Turner, B. L. 1963. Taxonomy of Florestina (Helenieae, Compositae). Brittonia 15: 27–46.
