Acunniana is a monospecific genus in the family Asteraceae which is found only in Australia's Northern Territory.[1] In the wild, Acunniana procumbens closely resembles species of the genera Indocypraea and Apowollastonia. The genus is named for its discoverer, Allan Cunningham, whose name abbreviates to A.Cunn.[2]

Acunniana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Subtribe: Ecliptinae
Genus: Acunniana
Orchard
Species:
A. procumbens
Binomial name
Acunniana procumbens
(DC.) Orchard
Synonyms[1]
  • Chrysogonum procumbens (DC.) F.Muell.
  • Microchaeta procumbens Nutt.
  • Moonia procumbens Benth.
  • Seruneum procumbens Kuntze
  • Wollastonia insularis DC.
  • Wollastonia procumbens DC.

Description

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Acunniana procumbens is a perennial herb which grows 0.3–1.0 m tall. It has opposite leaves which are simple and 25–55 mm long, 10–35 mm wide. It has 2 series of bracts; the outer bracts are green, herbaceous, and exceeding the inner bracts and disc florets; the inner bracts green and all the bracts are abaxially hairy. Ray florets are pistillate and fertile while the corollas are yellow. The disc florets functionally staminate and don't form achenes. The paleae are lanceolate, conduplicate, stiff, coriaceous, opaque, green in flower, becoming stramineous, and lack an abaxial crest. The midrib is apparent plus several striae with its tip slightly expanded or slightly lobed, and abaxially shortly scabrous. Its achenes are only developed from ray florets, and are brown to grey in color and 4.0–4.5 mm long. They are slightly compressed, 3-angled, ovoid, rounded apically, with sparse, minute hairs apically.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Acunniana procumbens (DC.) Orchard | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  2. ^ a b Orchard, Anthony E. (25 July 2013). "The Wollastonia/Melanthera/Wedelia generic complex (Asteraceae: Ecliptinae), with particular reference to Australia and Malesia" (PDF). Journal of the Western Australian Herbarium. 23: 337–466 – via Florabase.