Calyptocarpus Explained

Calyptocarpus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae.^{[1] [2]}

The name is derived from the Greek kalypto ("covered or hidden") and karpos ("fruit").^[3] Species are distributed in the southern United States and Latin America.^[3]

These are perennial herbs with decumbent to prostrate stems up to 30 centimeters long. The oppositely arranged leaves have blades of various shapes with toothed edges. Flower heads are solitary in the leaf axils. Each has 3 to 8 light yellow ray florets and several yellow disc florets. The fruit is a flat cypsela with a pappus of 2 or more awns.^[3]

There are 2^{[3] [4]} to 6^[5] species accepted in the genus.

Species^[4]

• Calyptocarpus biaristatus - Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina
• Calyptocarpus burchellii - southeastern Brazil
• Calyptocarpus vialis  - straggler daisy, horseherb, hierba del caballo, lawnflower,^[6] creeping Cinderella-weed - Texas, Louisiana, Central America, Venezuela; naturalized in Taiwan, Australia, Hawaii, parts of United States
• Calyptocarpus wendlandii - Central America, southern Mexico

Notes and References

1. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35247304#page/237/mode/1up Lessing, Christian Friedrich. 1832. Synopsis generum compositarum earumque dispositionis novae tentamen, monographis multarum Capensium interjectis 221.
2. http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40036032 Tropicos, Calyptocarpus Less.
3. Web site: Calyptocarpus Lessing, Syn. Gen. Compos. 221. 1832. . Flora of North America . eFloras.org . 2013-10-30.
4. Nesom, G. L. (2011). Is Calyptocarpus vialis (Asteraceae) native or introduced in Texas? Phytoneuron 31, 1-7.
5. http://www.theplantlist.org/browse/A/Compositae/Calyptocarpus/ Calyptocarpus.
6. http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CAVI2 Calyptocarpus vialis.