Sphagneticola trilobata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Sphagneticola
Species:
S. trilobata
Binomial name
Sphagneticola trilobata
(L.) Pruski[1]
Synonyms

Complaya trilobata (L.) Strother
Silphium trilobatum L.
Thelechitonia trilobata (L.) H.Rob. & Cuatrec.
Wedelia carnosa Rich.[1]
Wedelia paludosa DC.
Wedelia trilobata (L.) Hitchc.[2]

Sphagneticola trilobata, commonly known as the Bay Biscayne creeping-oxeye,[3] merigold Singapore daisy, creeping-oxeye, trailing daisy, and wedelia,[4][5] is a plant in the tribe Heliantheae of the family Asteraceae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, but now grows throughout the Neotropics. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental groundcover.[6]

Description

Spreading, mat-forming perennial herb up to 30 cm in height. Has rounded stems up to 40 cm long, rooting at nodes and with the flowering stems ascending. Leaves are fleshy, hairy, 4–9 cm long and 2–5 cm wide, serrate or irregularly toothed, normally with pairs of lateral lobes, and dark green above and lighter green below. Its surface is hairy or glabrous, rarely scaly.

Inflorescence

Peduncles are 3–10 cm long; involucres are campanulate to hemispherical, about 1 cm high; chaffy bracts are lanceolate, rigid. The flowers are bright yellow ray florets of about 8-13 per head, rays are 6–15 mm long; disk-corollas 4–5 mm long. The pappus is a crown of short fimbriate scales. The seeds are tuberculate achenes, 4–5 mm long. Propagation is mostly vegetatively as seeds are usually not fertile.[4] In the tropics it is free-flowering,[7] and elsewhere it blooms mostly from spring to autumn.[8]

Habitat

It has a very wide ecological tolerance range, but grows best in sunny areas with well-drained, moist soil at low elevations.[6][9]

Invasive species

Sphagneticola trilobata is listed in the IUCN's “List of the world's 100 worst invasive species”.[10] It is spread by people as an ornamental or groundcover that is planted in gardens, where it can escape to surrounding areas by dumping of garden waste. It spreads vegetatively, not by seed. It rapidly forms a dense ground cover, crowding away and preventing other plant species from regenerating. This species is widely available as an ornamental and is therefore likely to spread further.

It is a noxious weed in agricultural land, along roadsides urban waste places and other disturbed sites. It is also invasive along streams, canals, along the borders of mangrove swamps and in coastal vegetation.

It is widespread as an invasive species on the Pacific Islands, Hong Kong, South Africa, Australia, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. [4][6][11][9]

References

  1. 1 2 "Taxon: Sphagneticola trilobata (L.) Pruski". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2000-11-28. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
  2. ↑ "Sphagneticola trilobata (herb)". Global Invasive Species Database. Invasive Species Specialist Group. 2007-05-31. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  3. ↑ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Sphagneticola trilobata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Sphagneticola trilobata (PIER species info)". Archived from the original on 2012-12-30. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  5. ↑ "Sphagneticola trilobata". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
  6. 1 2 3 "GISD". Iucngisd.org. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  7. ↑ Sphagneticola trilobata (L.) Pruski Flora Fauna Web. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Singapore daisy Sphagneticola trilobata The State of Queensland, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Invasive Species Compendium". Cabi.org. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  10. ↑ Lowe S.; Browne M.; Boudjelas S.; De Poorter M. (2000). "100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species. A selection from the Global Invasive Species Database" (PDF). The Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG). Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "Singapore daisy | Sphagneticola trilobata - Invasives Species South Africa". Archived from the original on 2014-09-07. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
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