76 Phytologia (Aug 2004) 86(2) 



WEDELIA Jacq. 



Aspilia Thouars 

 Complaya Strother 

 Thelechitonia Cuatrecasas 



Suffruticose perennial herbs, shrublets or shrubs 1-3 m high. Stems 

 erect, procumbent or prostrate, arising from branched ligneous roots 

 or woody crowns, rarely rhizomatous. Leaves mostly opposite, rarely 

 alternate above, simple or 3-lobed, 3-nervate or rarely pinnately nerved. 

 Heads mostly radiate, 1 -several, terminal or rarely axillary, mostly 1-4 

 cm across the extended rays. Involucres 2-3 seriate, subequal or rarely 

 graduate, the outer series often green and somewhat foliate. Receptacle 

 plane to convex, paleate. Ray florets mostly 5-21 (rarely absent), 

 pistillate or neuter, fertile or sterile, the ligules yellow, white or rarely 

 purple. Disk florets 15-150, the corollas yellow. Achenes, those of the 

 ray, either 2- or 3-sided, when 3-sided usually somewhat tangentially 

 compressed and winged, those of the disk radially compressed, with or 

 without apical wings; pappus a sessile or raised narrow crown of minute 

 scales arising from the center of a clavate body, the borders of which 

 may or may not possess 1-3 rather delicate bristles. Base chromosome 

 numbers, x = 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15. 

 Type species, Wedelia fi-uticosa Jacq. 



REFERENCES 



McVaugh, R. 1984. Wedelia, in Flora Novo-Galiciana 12: 1080-1092. 

 Nash, D. 1976. Wedelia, in Flora Guatemala, Fieldiana, Bot. 24: 349- 



354. 

 Pruski, J. F. 1996. Compositae of the Guayana Highland-XL. . Novon 



6:404-418. 

 Robinson, H. 1984. Studies in the Heliantheae (Asteraceae) XXXIII... 



Phytologia 55: 415-423. 

 and J. Cuatrecasas. 1992. Thelechitonia Cuatrecasas, an older 



name for Complaya Strother (Ecliptinae-Heliantheae-Asteraceae). 



Phytologia 72: 141-143. 

 Strother, J. 1991. Taxonomy of Complaya, Elaphandra, Iogeton, Jefea, 



Wamalchitamia, Wedelia, Zexmenia, and Zyzyxia (Compositae: 



Heliantheae: Ecliptinae).Syst. Bot. Monographs 33: 1-111. 



