''Brickellia'' is a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of about 100 to 110 species of

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

s in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

, known commonly as brickellbushes. They are found in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

. Many

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are native to the American southwest, especially

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. ''Brickellia'' is among the more basal lineages of the

Eupatorieae Eupatorieae is a Tribe (biology), tribe of over 2000D.J.N.Hind & H.E.Robinson. 2007. Tribe Eupatorieae In: ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol.VIII. (Joachim W.Kadereit & Charles Jeffrey, volume editors. Klaus Kubitzky, general edi ...

and should not be assigned to a

subtribe Subtribe is a taxonomic category ranking which is below the rank of tribe and above genus. The standard suffix for a subtribe is -ina (in animals) or -inae (in plants). The first use of this word dates back to the late 19th century. An example of ...

pending further research. They are mostly woody

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s. Some species have a very strong pleasant scent, while others smell distasteful. All contain high amounts of

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...

Germacrene D Germacrenes are a group of five naturally occurring volatile organic hydrocarbons of the sesquiterpene and cycloalkene class. Germacrenes are typically produced in a number of plant species for their antimicrobial and insecticidal properties, th ...

, a natural

insecticide Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...

, is found in '' B. veronicifolia'' and probably other species, if not all. Despite their chemical defenses, brickellbushes are food for

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s of certain

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

. These include the noctuid moths ''

Schinia trifascia ''Schinia trifascia'', the three-lined flower moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1818. It is found in North America from Ontario and Massachusetts south to Florida and west to Arizona, Col ...

'', ''

Schinia oleagina ''Schinia oleagina'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in most of the western half of North America. The wingspan is about 27 mm. The larvae feed on ''Brickellia ''Brickellia'' is a North American genus of about 100 to 110 ...

'', which is known only from ''Brickellia'', ''

Schinia buta ''Schinia buta'' is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is endemic to southeast California and northwest Nevada. The wingspan is about 28 mm. The larvae feed on ''Brickellia californica ''Brickellia californica'', known by the common na ...

'', which is only known from '' B. californica'', and ''

Schinia gracilenta ''Schinia gracilenta'', the slender flower moth or iva flower moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1818. It is found from the US states of New York to Florida and Nebraska to Arizona. The s ...

'', which is only known from '' B. eupatorioides''. The genus is named for John Brickell, 1748–1809, Irish-born physician and naturalist.

Classification

The genera '' Brickelliastrum'' (United States and Mexico), '' Asanthus'' (United States and Mexico), ''Dyscritogyne'' (Mexico), and '' Steviopsis'' have been separated from ''Brickellia'' by many 20th century authors (and all four combined into ''Steviopsis'' by some). Their correct placement is still debated, but

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis has provided evidence that ''Brickelliastrum'', ''Asanthus'', and ''Steviopsis'' (including ''Dyscritogyne'', which is not distinct from ''Steviopsis'') represent distinct lineages, and should be recognized as separate from ''Brickellia'', while '' uhnia', '' arroetea' and '' hanerostylis' should be treated as synonyms.Schilling, E. E., et al. (2013)
Relationships of ''Asanthus'' (Asteraceae, Eupatorieae).
''Systematic Botany'' 38(1), 253-58. ;Species''Brickellia'' species records.
Flora of North America.GRIN Species Records of ''Brickellia''.
Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Brickellia longifolia var longifolia 1

Brickellia eupatorioides var corymbulosa

References

External links

{{Authority control Flora of Central America Flora of Northern America Asteraceae genera Taxa named by Stephen Elliott