Adenocaulinae

Funk, Vicki A., Pasini, Eduardo, Bonifacino, J. Mauricio & Katinas, Liliana, 2016, Home at last: the enigmatic genera Eriachaenium and Adenocaulon (Compositae, Mutisioideae, Mutisieae, Adenocaulinae), PhytoKeys 60, pp. 1-19 : 6

Subtribe Adenocaulinae

A. Gray, Syn. Fl. N. Amer. 1(2): 59. 1884 (as “Adenocauleae”). TYPE: Adenocaulon Hook.

Description.

Herbs perennial, dwarf or scapiform with cylindrical or planate rhizomes, stems simple, erect or prostrate to ascending, glabrous or with stipitate-glandular hairs. Leaves glabrous to subglabrous above, tomentose beneath; basal leaves alternate or rosulate to sub-rosulate; sessile or petiolate to pseudopetiolate; blades oblanceolate, elliptic, ovate, obovate, to deltoid, margin entire to lyrate, pinnately or palmately veined, glabrous to subglabrous above, tomentose beneath. Inflorescences terminal or axillar, monocephalous or laxly racemose to corymbose, pedunculate; heads heterogamous, disciform; receptacle epaleate; involucre uniseriate. Florets dimorphic; marginal florets female, with or without staminodes, corolla sub-bilabiate (3+1 corolla lips), tubular-funnelform, shortly to deeply 4- to 5-lobed, rarely bilabiate; central florets bisexual or male with a rudimentary ovary, corolla tubular-funnelform, deeply 5-lobed; anther apical appendages rounded to acute at the apex, basally constricted and demarcated from the thecae, basally auriculate with tails very short, smooth to slightly papillose, filament with anther collar; style shortly bifid, branches dorsally papillose. Achenes truncate at the apex, densely pubescent, shaggy (long, filiform, uniseriate hairs) or glandulose (glandular multiseriate capitate hairs), dimorphic, marginal cypselae conspicuously bigger than the central ones; pappus absent. Pollen spheroidal to prolate, tricolporate, exine Mutisia type, microechinate.

The subtribe Adenocaulinae was described by Gray (1873), on the basis of the genus Adenocaulon , for the tribe Inuleae . Rydberg (1917) raised the subtribe to the independent tribe Adenocauleae, also with Adenocaulon as its only genus. Further, Cabrera (1961) returned to Gray’s concept and re-described the subtribe Adenocaulinae for the tribe Inuleae , but this time the subtribe included the genera Adenocaulon and Eriachaenium . Despite the addition of Eriachaenium , no emendation of Gray’s subtribe concept is needed because the short and general description of Gray includes the features common to both genera.