''Erechtites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the

daisy family Asteraceae () is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger fam ...

known commonly as fireweeds or burnweeds. They are native to the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

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 ...

, but some species are widely distributed weeds.

Description

''Erechtites'' consists of

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

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 ...

herbs with large

taproots A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproot ...

and very often with a pungent odor. Leaves are usually ovate or lanceolate (sometimes pinnately lobed or pinnatifid).

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 ...

may sometimes contain as many as 100 yellow or white (rarely pink) disc florets but no

ray florets Asteraceae () is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger fa ...

Taxonomy and species

Some species in this genus are treated as members of ''

Senecio ''Senecio'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. Variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus ''Senecio'' is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Description Mo ...

'' by some authors, and several other species are considered variants of ''

Erechtites hieraciifolius ''Erechtites hieraciifolius'' (fireweed, American burnweed, or pilewort) is a plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. It is native to the Americas, but is found many places around the world having been introduced by human activity. such as in Hawa ...

'', so there may be as few as 5 distinct species in this genus. In particular, not all authors agree on whether to include a dozen or so species native to

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 ...

in ''Erechtites''. ;Species 27 species are recognised by Plants of the World Online *'' Erechtites apargiifolius'' -

*''

Erechtites atkinsoniae ''Erechtites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Asteraceae, daisy family known commonly as fireweeds or burnweeds. They are native to the Americas and Australia, but some species are widely distributed weeds. Description ''Erechtites'' cons ...

'' -

*'' Erechtites bathurstianus'' -

*''

Erechtites bukaensis ''Erechtites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family known commonly as fireweeds or burnweeds. They are native to the Americas and Australia, but some species are widely distributed weeds. Description ''Erechtites'' consists of annu ...

'' -

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

*'' Erechtites diversifolius'' -

*'' Erechtites glabrescens'' -

*''

Erechtites glomeratus ''Erechtites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family known commonly as fireweeds or burnweeds. They are native to the Americas and Australia, but some species are widely distributed weeds. Description ''Erechtites'' consists of annu ...

'' -

*''

Erechtites glossanthus ''Erechtites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family known commonly as fireweeds or burnweeds. They are native to the Americas and Australia, but some species are widely distributed weeds. Description ''Erechtites'' consists of annu ...

'' -

*''

Erechtites goyazensis ''Erechtites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family known commonly as fireweeds or burnweeds. They are native to the Americas and Australia, but some species are widely distributed weeds. Description ''Erechtites'' consists of annu ...

'' -

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 ...

*''

Erechtites gunnii ''Erechtites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family known commonly as fireweeds or burnweeds. They are native to the Americas and Australia, but some species are widely distributed weeds. Description ''Erechtites'' consists of annu ...

'' -

*''

'' -

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 ...

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

; introduced in

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 ...

and

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 ...

*''

Erechtites hispidulus ''Erechtites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family known commonly as fireweeds or burnweeds. They are native to the Americas and Australia, but some species are widely distributed weeds. Description ''Erechtites'' consists of annu ...

'' -

*''

Erechtites ignobilis ''Erechtites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family known commonly as fireweeds or burnweeds. They are native to the Americas and Australia, but some species are widely distributed weeds. Description ''Erechtites'' consists of annu ...

'' -

*'' Erechtites kermadecensis'' -

Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( ; ) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total area and uninhabit ...

*'' Erechtites laceratus'' -

*'' Erechtites leptanthus'' -

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 ...

*'' Erechtites minimus'' -

*'' Erechtites missionum'' -

*'' Erechtites petiolatus'' -

*'' Erechtites picridioides'' -

*'' Erechtites quadridentatus'' -

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

*'' Erechtites runcinatus'' -

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 ...

*'' Erechtites scaberulus'' -

*'' Erechtites sonchoides'' -

*'' Erechtites tenuiflorus'' -

*'' Erechtites valerianifolius'' -

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 ...

*'' Erechtites wairauensis'' -

Alternatively, a more limited genus circumscription restricts the genus to New World species and only recognises six species in two sections: * ''Erechtites'' sect. ''Erechtites'' ** ''Erechtites hieracifolius'' ** ''Erechtites missionis'' ** ''Erechtites valerianifolius'' ** ''Erechtites petiolatus'' * ''Erechtites'' sect. ''Goyazenses'' Belcher ** ''Erechtites goyazensis'' ** ''Erechtites ignobilis'' The genus name ''Erechtites'' is considered

masculine Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some beh ...

by some botanists and

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...

by others. Hence some species names may end in "-us" or "-a," for example, '' Erechtites valerianifolius'' versus ''E. valerianifolia.'' International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Art. 62.4) specifies that generic names ending in "-ites" are to be treated as masculine, hence the "-us" ending in such cases is to be preferred over the "-a" ending.International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code)
article 62.4

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile
Senecioneae Asteraceae genera {{Senecioneae-stub