Achnophora
Achnophora is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae described as a genus in 1883.
The only known species is Achnophora tatei. This is a rare endemic found only on Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
Description
Morphology
Roots
The rhizome of A. tatei is described as thick, hairless and vertical with bundles of short thick rootlets attached.Leaves
Achnophora tatei leaves are in a rosette form at the base of the plant, with a long narrow leaf shape and sheath at the base of the leaf.Flowers
Achnophora tatei flowers take the form of a scape. The flower stems are red, thread-like, almost naked and about as long as the leaves. Flowers are one-headed, have a rosette of bracts surrounding the flower which are close to hemispheric.The bracts of the flower are generally arranged in three rows of unequal length, with similar grades of size, and range in shape with the bract being egg-shaped with broader end at base to the bract being egg-shaped with the narrow end at base. The bracts are 4 to 5 millimetres long and have dry and membranous margins.
The receptacle or floral axis has conspicuous oblong scales between the flowers.
The ray-flowers are female in 1 row, with about 25 ligules which are narrow, blue and are an estimated 10 millimetres long.
Disc-flowers are tubular, with the style-branches being slender.
Anthers are blunt and rounded at the base.
Taxonomy
Etymology
Achnophora tatei is commonly known as the Kangaroo Island daisy.The genus name Achnophora is derived from the Greek word 'achne' which means chaff and 'phoros' meaning bearing. This refers to the clearly visible scales of the receptacle and pappus. Tatei is named after Ralph Tate, a British born botanist and geologist, who was a professor of Natural Science at the University of Adelaide.