Berkheyopsis echinus is a species of flowering plant in the sunflower family, Asteraceae. It is the sole species in genus Berkheyopsis. It is a perennial herb native to southern Africa, where it grows in Botswana, Namibia, and the Cape Provinces and Free State of South Africa.[1]
It is a bushy perennial herb growing up to 40 cm tall, with multiple prickly stems growing from a long taproot. It grows in deserts and dry shrublands.[1]
The species was first described as Hirpicium echinus by Christian Friedrich Lessing in 1832. Karl August Otto Hoffmann renamed the species Berkheyopsis echinus in 1895.[1] Many authorities continued to treat Berkheyopsis as a synonym of Hirpicium. In 2018 Stångberg, Karis, and Anderberg concluded that Hirpicium was paraphyletic, and that the species formed a distinct clade, and revived Berkheyopsis as a monotypic genus.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d Berkheyopsis echinus (Less.) O.Hoffm. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ F. Stångberg, P.O. Karis, A. Anderberg, 2018. Intergeneric relationships in the Gorteria clade of Arctotideae-Gorteriinae (Asteraceae), with description of a new genus, Roessleria. South African Journal of Botany, Volume 118, 2018. Pages 216-231. ISSN 0254-6299, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2018.07.018.
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