Pleiotaxis argentea M.R.F. Taylor

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Habit
Rocky woodland outcrop beside Chishimba Falls
Chishimba Falls, Kasama District
Jun 2023
Photo: Nick Wightman

Leaves
Rocky woodland outcrop beside Chishimba Falls
Chishimba Falls, Kasama District
Jun 2023
Photo: Nick Wightman

Inflorescences
Rocky woodland outcrop beside Chishimba Falls
Chishimba Falls, Kasama District
Jun 2023
Photo: Nick Wightman

Flower
Rocky woodland outcrop beside Chishimba Falls
Chishimba Falls, Kasama District
Jun 2023
Photo: Nick Wightman

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Synonyms:	Pleiotaxis. huillensis O.Hoffm. subsp. argentea (M.Taylor) S.Ortiz & Rodr. Oubiña
Common names:
Frequency:	Occasional
Status:	Native
Description:	A lax perennial herb or subshrub 0.5-2.5 m tall from a woody rootstock. Stems 1-many, sericeous-lanate, simple and leafless in the lower two thirds, becoming woody; ± diffusely branched and leafy in the upper part with leaves clustered towards the ends of branches. Leaves discolorous and markedly bullate, briefly stem sheathing at the base, with the midribs often somewhat recurved; lamina 3-10 x 1-4 cm, ovate to oblong-ovate, acute at the apex and broadly cuneate below; margins sharply serrulate; upper surface bullate, silvery to greyish green thinly lanate-pubescent; lower surface densely greyish or brownish araneose-sericeous. Capitula numerous , usually terminal on branches with 2-7 subsidiary capitula in the axils below on short or long stout stalks. Involucres mostly 15-20 x 8-20 mm, spreading to c. 30 mm wide, cylindric-campanulate. Phyllaries usually purple, chartaceous, araneose-tomentellous outside, margins glabrous, broadly hyaline. Florets numerous, corollas bright or deep red, up to 18 mm long with a slender tube abruptly dilated into a short cylindric, deeply narrowly-lobed limb which exceeds the pappus and involucre, glabrous. Achenes 6-9 mm long, narrowly cylindric, obscurely many-ribbed, densely appressed hispid; pappus of copious barbellate setae to c. 14 mm long.
Type location:	Zambia, Mpulungu
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	argentea: silvery, referring to the appearance of the stems and leaves covered in silvery white hairs.
Habitat:	Escarpment miombo, deciduous woodland on rocky hillsides and rocky outcrops
Altitude range:
Flowering time:	(Apr-)May - Jun
Worldwide distribution:	DRC (Katanga) and Zambia
Zambian distribution (Flora Zambesiaca):	N
Zambian distribution (Provinces):	N
Growth form(s):	Perennial, shrub under 2 m.
Endemic status:	Near Endemic
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated:	Saturday 29 July 2023
Literature:	Pope, G.V. (1992). Compositae Flora Zambesiaca 6(1) Pages 13 - 18. (Includes a picture). Wild, H. (1972). The Compositae of the Flora Zambesiaca area. 3. Mutisieae. Kirkia 8(2) Pages 199 - 200.

Other sources of information about Pleiotaxis argentea:

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Pleiotaxis argentea
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Pleiotaxis argentea
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Pleiotaxis argentea
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Pleiotaxis argentea
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Pleiotaxis argentea
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Pleiotaxis argentea
JSTOR Plant Science: Pleiotaxis argentea
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Pleiotaxis argentea
Plants of the World Online: Pleiotaxis argentea
Tropicos: Pleiotaxis argentea
Wikipedia: Pleiotaxis argentea