Cotula L.

Greek kotyle — small cup, a reference to the shape of the involucre.

Annual or perennial herbs, glabrous to hairy. Stems erect or decumbent. Leaves basal and/or along stems, alternate or opposite, margins entire to divided. Capitula diskiform or diskoid, rarely radiate, terminal or axillary, solitary, with stalks. Involucral bracts in 2 rows, overlapping, unequal. Receptacle flat to conical. Outer florets female, corolla often absent, white if present. Inner florets bisexual, tubular, yellowish. Achenes compressed, often winged, usually hairy. Pappus absent.

Three species have become naturalised in Australia, usually in damp saline habitats.

Outer florets that usually lack a corolla; compressed, often winged achenes.

About 55 species, mostly from the southern hemisphere but also N Africa and Mexico.

Source: Jeanes, J. (2002). Asteraceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 4. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 3. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.

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kingdom Plantae
phylum   Tracheophyta
class    Magnoliopsida
superorder     Asteranae
order      Asterales
family       Asteraceae
Higher taxa
Subordinate taxa
species         Cotula coronopifolia L.