Summary ²

Leptinella is a flowering plant in the Asteraceae family, distributed in New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and South America. Native to the Falkland Islands.

Feathery Buttonweed is a creeping perennial herb forming low (c.5cm high) mats; stems up to 15cm long, rooted at lower nodes; separate male and female plants. Leaf blades are 9-15 x 5-9mm, oblong in outline, feather-like and deeply subdivided with 5-8 pairs of lobes. The flower heads are compound (daisy-like) flowers, 8-10mm in diameter, with leaflets (2-4 x 2.5mm) at their base; leaflets green with white margins, dark purple tips; female flower heads are larger than male flower heads; flowers are tiny (1.5-2mm across), yellow, funnel-shaped. Each fruit is dry, flattened, thin-walled, 1.5-1.8mm long and containing a single seed, without pappus; wind dispersed. Typically found on marshy ground.

Distribution ³

Hansen Valley, Leith Harbour

Comments ⁴

Non-flowering feathery buttonweed plants might be mistaken for yarrow, however the latter has much longer (≥ 5cm) and wider (up to 25mm) leaves that are lance-shaped rather than oblong in outline. Feathery buttonweed is a native of the Falkland Islands.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Liana May, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Liana May
2. Adapted by stuwhiterod from a work by (c) Kelvin Floyd, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
3. (c) Kelvin Floyd, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
4. (c) stuwhiterod, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• World Flora Online

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