Greeneyes | |
---|---|
Berlandiera lyrata | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Subfamily: | Asteroideae |
Tribe: | Heliantheae |
Genus: |
Berlandiera DC. |
Type species | |
Berlandiera texana DC. |
Berlandiera is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae.
The name honours Belgian explorer Jean-Louis Berlandier (1805–1851). The genus is distributed in the United States and Mexico. Species are known generally as greeneyes.
These are perennial herbs and subshrubs, sometimes with annual stems growing from a woody base or taproot. They are a few centimeters tall to well over a meter. The herbage is usually hairy and may be rough or soft in texture. The alternately arranged leaves have variously shaped blades that may be lobed or divided. The flower heads are solitary or borne in wide arrays. There are usually about 8 ray florets, but there may be 2 to 13 per head. They are yellowish on the upper surface but the undersides may be green, red, or maroon, or have darker veins. There are many disc florets in shades of yellow, red, or maroon. The fruit is a hairy black cypsela that is shed from the plant with the remnants of disc florets and phyllaries still attached to it.