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Volume IV (1988) - Flora of New Zealand Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons
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Inuleae Cass.

INULEAE Cass.

Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, not usually strongly scented, lacking latex. Lvs usually alternate, rarely opposite. Involucral bracts in (1)-2-many rows, membranous or foliaceous. Receptacle with or without scales. Capitula usually ⚥, rarely unisexual, usually discoid with outer florets ♀ and inner florets ⚥, sometimes inner florets ♂ or outer florets ligulate. Anthers sagittate and usually tailed at base. Style branches each with 2 stigmatic lines. Achenes usually homomorphic, rarely heteromorphic, smooth, ribbed or angled, terete or compressed; pappus usually of 1 row of toothed to plumose hairs, sometimes also of scales or rarely 0.

Key

1
Capitula radiate
2
Capitula discoid, although sometimes involucral bracts radiating
4
2
Pappus of 2 rows, outer of short connate scales, inner of longer slender hairs
PULICARIA
Pappus of 1 row of hairs
3
3
Achenes abruptly constricted below apex
DITTRICHIA
Achenes not or slightly narrowed below apex
INULA
4
Lamina of at least the inner involucral bracts conspicuous, usually radiating, milky white, bright yellow, gold, orange or red at anthesis
5
Lamina of bracts inconspicuous, erect or hooked but never radiating at anthesis, dull yellow or brown or flushed reddish purple
12
5
Much branched shrub
CASSINIA
Herbs, at most woody toward base, or subshrubs
6
6
Capitula solitary
7
Capitula in corymbs or dense clusters
8
7
Capitula sessile
RAOULIA†ζ
Capitula long-pedunculate
HELICHRYSUM
8
Capitula 1-2 mm diam.; stereome concave
VELLEREOPHYTON
Capitula > 4 mm diam.; stereome ± flat
9
9
Stems conspicuously 4-winged
AMMOBIUMζ
Stems not winged
10
10
Erect annual herb; bract lamina usually yellow, gold, orange or red, rarely white
HELICHRYSUM
Trailing or spreading subshrubs or herbs woody toward base; bract lamina white
11
11
♀ florets in 1 row
EWARTIA†
♀ florets in many rows
ANAPHALIS†ζ
12
Capitula solitary
13
Capitula in dense or diffuse infls
16
13
Mat- or cushion-forming herbs, often with somewhat woody stems; capitula sessile
14
Woody subshrubs, prostrate shrubs or lianes, with sessile capitula, or herbs with capitula pedunculate at least at fruiting
15
14
Lvs 10-35 mm long or densely imbricate with stem tip (including lvs) 8-20 mm diam.
HAASTIA†ζ
Lvs < 10 mm long or densely imbricate with stem tip (including lvs) 2-8 mm diam.
RAOULIA†ζ
15
Herbs with lvs in distinct rosettes; ⚥ florets fewer than ♀
GNAPHALIUM
Woody subshrubs, prostrate shrubs, lianes, or herbs with imbricate or scattered lvs distributed along stems; ⚥ florets more numerous than ♀
HELICHRYSUM
16
Spreading subshrub to erect much-branched shrub
HELICHRYSUM
Herbs, at most woody at base
17
17
Tall, erect, summergreen, shortly rhizomatous perennial without persistent basal lvs
INULA
Short to tall, prostrate to erect annuals or short-lived non-rhizomatous perennials, or long-lived perennials with persistent basal lvs
18
18
Annuals or short-lived perennials usually lacking basal lvs at flowering, without stolons or persistent leafy stems
19
Perennials with persistent leafy stems, basal rosettes, or stolons
23
19
Inner involucral bracts becoming darker and hooked at fruiting
STUARTINA
Inner involucral bracts usually lighter at fruiting, erect or spreading but not hooked
20
20
Receptacle with scales, if scales appearing as bracts then outer achenes lacking a pappus and enclosed by scales
21
Receptacle lacking scales; outer achenes not enclosed, with a pappus
22
21
Receptacular scales obtuse to acute, becoming patent and star-like at fruiting
LOGFIA
Receptacular scales aristate, remaining ± erect at fruiting
FILAGOζ
22
Lamina of involucral bract not clearly differentiated from membranous gap and margins, and stereome divided with central contrasting window
PSEUDOGNAPHALIUM†ζ
Lamina of involucral bract clearly differentiated from gap and margins and stereome undivided and ± uniform
GNAPHALIUM
23
Infls subtended by conspicuous lvs or leafy bracts > 1/2 diam. of cluster, if lvs reduced then capitula mostly < 10 ; stereome undivided
24
Infls subtended by inconspicuous much-reduced lvs; capitula mostly 10-numerous; stereome divided or scarcely present
25
24
Infls ± flat or convex, surrounded by white, hairy, ray-like lvs; stems persistent, woody toward base, with imbricate lvs
LEUCOGENES†
Infls ± globular, the subtending lvs not ray-like and mostly green or grey; stems short-lived, not woody, with few distant lvs
GNAPHALIUM
25
Stems leafy; receptacle without scales; stereome divided
PSEUDOGNAPHALIUM†ζ
Stems with few, reduced lvs; receptacle with scales; stereome scarcely present
CRASPEDIA†

c. 180-200 genera, 2100 spp., cosmopolitan.

The treatment provided here generally follows Merxmüller, H., Leins, P. and Roessler, H., in Heywood et al. (op. cit.). A satisfactory taxonomy at generic level has yet to be arrived at for many parts of the Inuleae - this is particularly true for genera segregated from Gnaphalium and Helichrysum. The genera accepted for the indigenous N.Z. flora will undoubtedly be considerably redefined once this situation has been resolved.

The terminology used here for involucral bracts follows that of Drury, D. G., New Zealand J. Bot.8 : 222-248 (1970) : the stereome is the rigid, central lower portion, the lamina is the membranous tip which is often coloured and sometimes radiating, and the gap and margins are the membranous parts surrounding the stereome (see, Gnaphalium delicatum, Fig. 26).

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