''Cotula coronopifolia'' is a

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), ...

of flowering plant in the aster

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

(

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 ...

). Commonly known as brass buttons, golden buttons, and buttonweed, it is native to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Description

The

flower heads A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers ...

are bright yellow discoid heads that look like thick buttons. Individual plants spread stems along the ground and send up the knobby flowers at intervals. The plant is native to southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, as well as

, but it has been introduced to other parts of the world (

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 ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, etc.).Flora of North America, Brass-buttons, cotule, Cotula coronopifolia Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 892. 1753.
/ref> Brass buttons are common plants that occupy a specialized

ecological niche In ecology, a niche is the match of a species to a specific environmental condition. Three variants of ecological niche are described by It describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of Resource (biology), resources an ...

. They prefer muddy, anoxic

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s and brackish water. They are very salt-tolerant. The plant has fat, fleshy leaves that store water during times of saline inundation. The reddish stems and green, blade-shaped leaves are coated with a shiny cuticle to retain moisture. It can also be found in the wetter patches in vernal pool ecosystems. Brass buttons are common along beaches,

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

es, and estuaries from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to Washington. It has been present in the British Isles since the late 1800s, especially on the

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

coast and is considered a neophyte naturalised plant. Although brass buttons is known to be invasive, its spread appears to be relatively slow. Its California Invasive Plant Council Inventory rating is "limited", that is, "invasive but their ecological impacts are minor on a statewide level or there was not enough information to justify a higher score. Their reproductive biology and other attributes result in low to moderate rates of invasiveness. Ecological amplitude and distribution are generally limited, but these species may be locally persistent and problematic."California Invasive Plant Inventory Accessed Dec. 19, 2013
/ref>

Gallery

Cotula coronopifolia 108269598.jpg Cotula coronopifolia 2.jpg Cotula coronopifolia 7776.JPG, Leaves sheath the stem and are entire or with a few teeth or deep lobes ( Fir Island, Washington) Cotula coronopifolia - Flickr - Kevin Thiele.jpg

References

External links

Jepson Manual ''Cotula coronopifolia''''Cotula coronopifolia'' occurrence data
from GBIF * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2998623 coronopifolia Flora of Angola Flora of the Cape Provinces Flora of Namibia Flora of the Northern Provinces Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus