''Encelia'' is a

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 the

plant family Family (, : ) is one of the eight major Hierarchy, hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order (biology), order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamily, subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks ...

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 ...

whose members are frequently called brittlebushes. It consists of

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 (and one

geophyte A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...

) of arid environments in southwestern

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 ...

and western

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 ...

.Flora of North America, ''Encelia'' Adanson, Fam. Pl. 2: 128. 1763.
/ref> All have n = 18 chromosomes. All the

n species are obligate outcrossers. In cultivation, the species readily form fertile F₁ hybrids, F₂s, and backcrosses, but in natural areas of

sympatry In biology, two closely related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter each other. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct spe ...

, F2s and backcrosses are absent or rare. ''Encelia'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of some

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 ...

species including the

leaf miner A leaf miner is any one of numerous species of insects in which the larval stage lives in, and eats, the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths (Lepidoptera), sawflies (Symphyta, a paraphyletic group which ...

'' Bucculatrix enceliae'' which feeds exclusively on ''

Encelia farinosa ''Encelia farinosa'' (commonly known as brittlebush, brittlebrush, or incienso), is a common desert shrub of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It has a variety of historical uses. Description Brittlebush grows up to tall, wi ...

''. The

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

of ''Encelia'' is a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

comprising the genera ''

Enceliopsis ''Enceliopsis'' is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are sometimes called sunrays. They are similar to the daisylike plants in the related genus '' Encelia''. These three shrubs are native to the western United Stat ...

'' and ''

Geraea ''Geraea'' is a genus of the family Asteraceae from the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, commonly called the desert sunflower. ; Species * ''Geraea canescens'' Torr. & A.Gray - California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah * '' Geraea vi ...

''. The three genera are informally called the "Encelia alliance". ''Encelia'' is named in honor of German biologist Christophorus Enzelius, 1517–1583. ;SpeciesBiota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps
/ref> *''

Encelia actoni ''Encelia actoni'', also known by the common names Acton brittlebush and Acton encelia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is sometimes misspelled ''Encelia actonii''. Distribution and habitat The plant is native to so ...

Elmer Elmer is a name of Germanic British origin. The given name originated as a surname, a medieval variant of the given name Aylmer, derived from Old English ''æþel'' (noble) and ''mær'' (famous). It was adopted as a given name in the United State ...

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 ...

*''

Encelia asperifolia ''Encelia'' is a genus of the Family (biology), plant family Asteraceae whose members are frequently called brittlebushes. It consists of shrubs (and one geophyte) of arid environments in southwestern North America and western South America. Al ...

'' (

S.F.Blake Sidney Fay Blake (1892–1959) was an American botanist and plant taxonomist, "recognized as one of the world's experts on botanical nomenclature." Biography Blake was born in 1892 in Stoughton, Massachusetts. In 1912, he received a bachelor's d ...

) C. Clark & Kyhos -

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

*''

Encelia californica ''Encelia californica'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae It is commonly referred to as California coast sunflower and California bush sunflower. Distribution This shrub is native to southern California (U.S.) and northern ...

Nutt. Thomas Nuttall (5 January 1786 – 10 September 1859) was an English botanist and zoologist who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841. Nuttall was born in the village of Long Preston, near Settle in the West Riding of Yorkshire and ...

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

*'' Encelia canescens'' Lam. -

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

*'' Encelia conspersa''

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

*'' Encelia densifolia'' C.Clark & Kyhos -

*''

Torr. John Torrey (August 15, 1796 – March 10, 1873) was an American botanist, chemist, and physician. Throughout much of his career, he was a teacher of chemistry, often at multiple universities, while he also pursued botanical work, focusing on t ...

& A.Gray var. ''farinosa'' - brittlebush -

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico :''Most, if not all, named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811)'' * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coah ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

*'' Encelia frutescens'' ( A.Gray) A.Gray -

*'' Encelia halimifolia'' Cav. -

*'' Encelia hispida'' Andersson - Galápagos *'' Encelia laciniata'' Vasey & Rose -

*'' Encelia nutans'' Eastwood -

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

*'' Encelia palmeri'' Vasey &

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

*'' Encelia pilocarpa'' Rubsy-

*'' Encelia pilosiflora'' S.F.Blake -

*'' Encelia ravenii'' Wiggins -

*'' Encelia resinifera'' C. Clark -

*'' Encelia scaposa'' (A.Gray) A.Gray- Chihuahua,

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 ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

*'' Encelia stenophylla'' Greene -

*'' Encelia ventorum'' T.S Brandegee -

*''

Encelia virginensis ''Encelia virginensis'' is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Virgin River brittlebush. This shrub is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, particularly the M ...

'' A. Nels. -

References

Further reading