Cotula L.

Herbs, annual or perennial, often creeping. Leaves alternate, pinnatifid or pinnatisect, rarely entire or toothed. Heads heterogamous, rarely homogamous, hemispheric or campanulate. Involucral bracts sub-2-seriate, often with scarious margins. Receptacle naked. Outer florets female, fertile, 1 - 2-seriate fertile; corolla conic or absent. Disc florets hermaphrodite, all fertile or inner sometimes sterile, tubular; limb 4-lobed. Anther bases obtuse. Style arms truncate or obtuse, of sterile florets sometimes entire. Achenes of female or of all flowers stipitate, compressed, sometimes sheathed above by the base of the corolla. Pappus absent or sometimes short, auriculate.

Throughout the world; 75 species, 4 in India.

Literature. HARA, H. (1942). On Cotula australis and C. hemisphaerica. J. Jap. Bot. 18: 3 - 5. VAID, K.M. & H.B. NAITHANI, (1970). Cotula australis (Sieb. & Spreng.) Hook.f. A new Record For N.W. & E. Himalayas, Ind. For. 96(6): 426 - 428.

KEY TO THE SPECIES

1a. Achenes of outer florets glandular

3. Cotula australis

b. Achenes of outer florets not glandular

2

2a. Corolla of female florets prominent, 3 - 4-toothed, prominently lobed at base

2. Cotula aurea

b. Corolla of female florets, absent or minute, 2-toothed, not lobed at base

3

3a. Leaf segment. deeply cut, achene. of disc florets not winged

4. Cotula hemisphaerica

b. Leaf segment. decurrent, lobed, achenes of disc florets narrowly winged

1. Cotula anthemoides

List of Lower Taxa