Phoebanthus, called false sunflower, is a genus of North American plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae.[1][2]

Phoebanthus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Subtribe: Helianthinae
Genus: Phoebanthus
S.F.Blake
Type species
Phoebanthus grandiflorus

Phoebanthus includes two species of herbaceous perennials that are both native to the southeastern United States The genus is a close relative of Helianthus, the genus of the common sunflower, and the plants have the general appearance of a sunflower.

Taxonomy

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Phoebanthus is characterized by having a pappus of short scales that are usually persistent (don't fall off) compared to the pappus of two deciduous awns (and sometimes a few scales) in Helianthus, and Phoebanthus is also characterized by a distinctive type of slender, horizontal tuber that forms the perennating organ.

Species[3][4][5]

The relationship between the two species has never been closely analyzed, but it does not appear that P. grandiflorus is simply an autotetraploid of P. tenuifolius.[7]

References

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  • [1] online treatment of Phoebanthus in the ISB Atlas of Florida Plants (includes photos and county maps of both species)