Inula salicina

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Inula salicina
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Inula
Species: I. salicina
Binomial name
Inula salicina
L.

Inula salicina (common name willowleaf yellowhead) is a plant species in the genus Inula in the family Asteraceae.[1] It is found across Europe, into Asia and also Japan and North Eastern United States.[2] Fairly typical of the daisy family it is a medium-sized herb, with elongate leaves and yellow many petalled flowers.

Discovery and taxonomy

Inula salicina was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is one of about 90 species in the genus Inula.

Synonyms and common names

Inula salicina is known from a variety of common names including willowleaf yellowhead, Irish fleabane and willow-leaved Inula. Since its initial description it has also been ascribed a variety of Latin names, including Inula glabra, Conyza salicin, Aster spathularis, Aster rigidus, Jacobaea salicina and Aster salicinus all of which are now regarded as synonyms and probably reflecting the still uncertain taxonomy of the genus, it being regarded as possibly paraphyletic.

Distribution

Inula salicina is to be found extensively across mainland western Europe, from Spain through France, Benelux, Germany, Poland, Denmark and southern Scandinavia. It is also to be found Japan and restricted areas of north eastern United States. It only has a very restricted distribution is the British Isles, being confined to a small area of south central Ireland, around Lough Derg in north Tipperary and south-east Galway. Indeed it is now reported[3] that it can only be found at a single locality, having been eliminated from former sites through human activity. The species has been become a flagship species and a focus for conservation efforts, with a co-ordinated program to reintroduce the plant already well underway. The plant is regarded a member of the Lusitanian flora[4] in that it is a member of a group of plants that are specific to south west Ireland, are not found in the rest of the British Isles and are plants that are more normally seen in the Mediterranean. It is not known how this group of plants became established in Ireland, but it is likely to have been in the last 10000 years since the end of the last ice age.

Description

Inula salicina is an upright herb, between 20–80 centimetres (7.9–31.5 in) in height, with a thin stem, narrow, elongate, alternate, stemless leaves, which with the stem are roughly haired. The flowers are carried singly at the top of the stem, are 2.5–4 centimetres (0.98–1.57 in) in diameter. They are bright yellow in colour and are arranged in common with most members of the daisy family, being composite in nature.

References

  1. ↑ "Inula salicina". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved March 10, 2012. 
  2. ↑ "EOL report for Inula salicina". Retrieved Mar 10, 2012. 
  3. ↑ "Irish Botanic Gardens report on conservation program". Retrieved 14 March 2012. 
  4. ↑ "Brief description of Lusitanian flora". Retrieved 14 March 2012. 

External links

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