Flora of New Zealand Series

Perennial herbs. Lvs mostly basal, simple, crenate to pinnatifid, reduced to alternate scales on peduncles. Capitula solitary and axillary from basal rosette. Involucral bracts in 2-4 rows, imbricate, herbaceous with membranous margins. Receptacle slightly convex; scales 0. Outer florets ♀, filiform or with rudimentary ligules, numerous in several rows. Inner florets ♂, tubular, fewer than ♀. Achenes all similar, subfalcate, not conspicuously beaked, compressed, with 2 narrow ribs; pappus 0.

4 spp., Australia, Japan. Naturalised spp. 3.

Drury, D. G., New Zealand J. Bot. 12 : 365-396 (1974), made a detailed comparison of Solenogyne and Lagenifera sect. Lagenifera. He recognised 3 groups, one of which included all Solenogyne spp. along with 3 Lagenifera spp. Although these Lagenifera spp. share several character states with Solenogyne they are clearly distinguished by other characters used by Drury and some characters traditionally used to separate the 2 genera but not considered by Drury. The problem of the status of Solenogyne will probably be solved only by comparison with other genera in the Astereae; meanwhile it seems best to retain the genus in its strict sense. Adams, L. G., Brunonia 2 : 43-65 (1979), also considered the generic status of Solenogyne and revised the genus for Australia.