Palafoxia
Palafoxia, or palafox, is a genus of North American flowering plants in the Bahia tribe within the Asteraceae.
Description
The erect, slender stem grows tall, branching in the lower half and is sparsely leaved. It is glandular and hairy on the upper parts.The glabrous, glandular leaves are lanceolate, wide and long, and are arranged alternately.
A few flower heads appear at the end of the upper branches. The reddish to pink ray florets have three narrow lobes. They are subtended by involucral bracts.
The seed-like fruit is narrow with a pappus of several pointed scales. These plants self-sow freely.
Taxonomy
The genus is named after José de Palafox y Melzi, Duke of Saragossa, a Spanish captain-general in the Peninsular War against the invading armies of Napoleon.;Species
- Palafoxia arida B.L. Turner & Morris : Spanish needles, desert palafox - Baja [California Sur], Sonora, CA AZ NV UT
- Palafoxia callosa Torr. & Gray : small palafox - Coahuila, TX LA MS AR MO OK
- Palafoxia feayi A.Gray : Feay's palafox - FL
- Palafoxia hookeriana Torr. & Gray : sand palafox - TX
- Palafoxia integrifolia Torr. & Gray : coastalplain palafox - FL GA
- Palafoxia lindenii A.Gray - Veracruz
- Palafoxia linearis Lag. - Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, California
- Palafoxia reverchonii Cory : Reverchon's palafox - TX
- Palafoxia riograndensis Cory : Rio Grande palafox - Coahuila, Texas
- Palafoxia rosea Cory : rosy palafox - Nuevo León
- Palafoxia sphacelata Cory : showy palafox, sand palafox, rotting palafox - Chihuahua, Veracruz, TX NM OK KS NE CO
- Palafoxia texana DC. :Texas palafox - Nuevo León, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Veracruz, TX LA FL