PlantaeDB Logo
Login Sign-up

Genus Trichocline in Tribe Mutisieae

In botanical taxonomy, a genus (plural genera) is a rank used to group closely related species within a family. In the hierarchy, genus sits below family and above species.

Genera are defined by shared morphological, anatomical, and genetic characteristics (for example, features of flowers, fruits, seeds, or leaves) that indicate a close evolutionary relationship among the species they contain.

Each genus can include one or more species. Examples include Rosa (roses) and Solanum (nightshades, including tomato and eggplant).

Do you wish to read more about plant taxonomy? Click here!

Genus Description

Suggest a correction!

Trichocline Cass. belongs to Asteraceae (tribe Nassauvieae) and comprises about 25 accepted species. It is native to South America, ranging from the high Andes of Argentina and Chile into the Puna and Patagonia, with outlying elements in Brazil’s campos. The type species is T. incana Cass. (Cassini, 1816). The genus comprises perennial herbs or subshrubs, often with basal rosettes and densely tomentose indumentum; leaves are variable from entire to deeply divided and frequently bear axillary tufts. Inflorescences are usually solitary, pedunculate heads; phyllaries are imbricate and the capitula bear few to many florets. Achenes are truncate or slightly inflated at the base, with a carpopodium, and the pappus is paleaceous, formed of short scales or short bristles; this paleaceous apparatus distinguishes Trichocline from several related genera (Cabrera, 1963). Species richness concentrates in the southern Andes and in the campos region of Brazil, with several narrowly endemic taxa (Cabrera, 1963). Field observations indicate that the scaly pappus facilitates wind dispersal, but standardized pollination or dispersal studies are few. Chromosome numbers reported for related Nassauvieae are x=9, and occasional counts for Trichocline align with this base (Cabrera, 1963), although counts across the genus remain sparse.

Taxonomically, Trichocline is placed in Nassauvieae and has been treated in varying circumscriptions. Cabrera (1963) recognized the genus with several species and documented synonymy. Bremer (1994) placed Trichocline among core Nassauvieae based on morphological phylogeny. Recent revisions in the broader Nassauvieae complex have led to extensive re-circumscriptions of genera such as Jungia, and Trichocline has been subsumed under Jungia by some authors, notably using J. fiebrigii as the type under that treatment; this alternative concept remains a matter of debate (Sancho, 2002; Freire & Ariza Espinar, 2013). POWO (2024) currently treats Trichocline as a valid genus; WFO (2024) and GBIF (2024) adopt the same placement. The taxon is of local ornamental interest in Andean horticulture and occasionally cultivated in rock gardens, but it is neither a major crop nor a significant timber source. Limited endemism renders several species vulnerable to habitat conversion and stochastic disturbance, especially in high Andes and campos; taxonomic instability also hinders conservation assessments (POWO, 2024; WFO, 2024; GBIF, 2024). Improved phylogenetic resolution and standardized chromosome surveys will clarify generic limits and conservation priorities (Freire & Ariza Espinar, 2013; Sancho, 2002).

Pick a Species to see its components: