Leptinella filicula
Leptinella filicula, also known as ferny buttons or mountain Cotula, is a perennial herb frequently found in wet shaded areas, on mountains and in rainforests across South-Eastern Australia and Tasmania. L. filicula is an angiosperm, in the family Asteraceae, the largest vascular plant family in Australia.
Description
L. filicula is stoloniferous with prostrate branches, growing to wide. Branches commonly have leaves along the full length and are often densely hairy along the stem. Leaves are pinnate, glossy and long. Leaves are oblong to ovate, sometimes with a secondary tooth or becoming bipinnate. Leaves sometimes with mucronate apices and tiny glandular dots. Leaves have slender petioles approximately long, however sometimes pinnate leaves run the length of the leaf and appear stem-claspingInflorescences, appearing button-like, are terminal, single, compact flowers that have yellow heads in diameter. Peduncles are thick and 10-20mm long when in flower and grows closer to 60mm when in fruit. Involucral bracts are oblong or broadly ovate in shape with a blunt tip. The bracts have hyaline margins and are somewhat hairy. Florets are sessile, with outer florets arranged in 3 or 4 rows. The corolla is minute and glandular.
Leptinella filicula fruit is a rounded cypsela, which is an achene common amongst the Asteraceae family. It is 1.5-2mm long, flattened laterally, a narrow wing connected to the seed and the corolla remains attached
Leptinella filicula flowers predominantly in summer.
Distinguishing characteristics
Leptinella filicula has peduncles that are thick and shorter than the leaves when in flower, however when in fruit the peduncle becomes longer than the leaves. L. filicula is typically covered by dense hairs.Conservation status
Not considered threatened at an international level.Taxonomy and phylogeny
Leptinella filicula was first described by Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1856 as Cotula filicula.The genus Leptinella belongs to the sub-tribe Cotulinae within the Anthemideae tribe of the Asteraceae family. Asteraceae is one of the largest angiosperm families, representing 10% of all flowering plants. It is phenotypically diverse and distributed widely across the globe. Asteraceae contains 16 sub-families and 51 tribes, including the tribe Anthemideae. Anthemideae is typically composed of herbs and shrubs with deeply divided leaves are aromatic and lack pappus bristles. The Old-World tribe contains 115 genera. and is often values for its pharmaceutical properties, as flavouring or spice, or to provide scents Species in the sub-tribe Cotulinae typically have pleisomorphic surface coverings affixed from the base. They have inflorescences that are solitary or clustered in groups, in the form of radiate, disciform, or discoid. The corolla typically have 3-4 lobes and anthers have a distinct slender-collar with non-polarized tissue. Within the sub-tribe Cotulinae, the genera Cotula, Solvia and Leptinella are closely related. Leptinella and Cotula diverged during the mid-Miocene, and yet have widespread distribution, indicating multiple dispersal events. Leptinella can be found in Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, South America and the Falkland Islands. Within the Leptinella genus, L. filicula, is considered part of the filicula-group, and shares the trait of monoecious sex type that is common to other Leptinella groups that follow early diverging lineages.