Berkheyopsis
Berkheyopsis echinus is a species of flowering plant in the sunflower family, Asteraceae. It is the sole species in genus Berkheyopsis. It is a perennial herb native to southern Africa, where it grows in Botswana, Namibia, and the Cape Provinces and Free State of South Africa.[1]
| Berkheyopsis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Subfamily: | Vernonioideae |
| Tribe: | Arctotideae |
| Subtribe: | Gorteriinae |
| Genus: | Berkheyopsis O.Hoffm. (1892) |
| Species: | B. echinus |
| Binomial name | |
| Berkheyopsis echinus (Less.) O.Hoffm. (1895) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
It is a bushy perennial herb growing up to 40 cm tall, with multiple prickly stems growing from a long taproot. It grows in deserts and dry shrublands.[1]
The species was first described as Hirpicium echinus by Christian Friedrich Lessing in 1832. Karl August Otto Hoffmann renamed the species Berkheyopsis echinus in 1895.[1] Many authorities continued to treat Berkheyopsis as a synonym of Hirpicium. In 2018 Stångberg, Karis, and Anderberg concluded that Hirpicium was paraphyletic, and that the species formed a distinct clade, and revived Berkheyopsis as a monotypic genus.[2]
References
- Berkheyopsis echinus (Less.) O.Hoffm. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- F. Stångberg, P.O. Karis, A. Anderberg, 2018. Intergeneric relationships in the Gorteria clade of Arctotideae-Gorteriinae (Asteraceae), with description of a new genus, Roessleria. South African Journal of Botany, Volume 118, 2018. Pages 216-231. ISSN 0254-6299, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2018.07.018.