''Aphanes'' (parsley-piert) is a genus of around 20 species in the rose family (
Rosaceae
Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera.
The name is derived from the type genus '' Rosa''. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but som ...
), native to
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
,
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. A 2003 study indicated that ''Aphanes'' may belong to the genus ''
Alchemilla
''Alchemilla'' is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Rosaceae, with the common name lady's mantle applied generically as well as specifically to ''Alchemilla mollis'' when referred to as a garden plant. The plant used as a herb ...
'', commonly called lady's-mantle.
They are slender, annual prostrate
herb
Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...
s, much-branched with deeply lobed
leaves
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
, pilose (covered with soft hair) and on short
petioles. The tiny green to yellow
flower
Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
s without
petal
Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...
s grow in clusters in the denticulate leaflike
stipule
In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...
s.
Species include:
*''
Aphanes andicola''
Rothm.
*''
Aphanes arvensis''
L. – field parsley-piert, western lady's-mantle, parsley breakstone
*''
Aphanes australiana'' – Australian piert
*''
Aphanes australis''
Rydb.
*''
Aphanes cotopaxiensis''
Romoleroux & Frost-Olsen
*''
Aphanes cuneifolia''
(Nutt.) Rydb.
*''
Aphanes looseri''
Rothm.
*''
Aphanes microcarpa''
(Boiss. & Reut.) Rothm. (
syn. ''
A. australis'', ''A. inexpectata'') – slender parsley-piert
*''
Aphanes occidentalis''
(Nutt.) Rydb. – dew cup, lady's mantle
References
External links
*
Rosaceae genera
Demulcents
{{Rosoideae-stub