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Title: Simsia Persoon for Flora Mesoamerica

Author
item Spooner, David
item PRUSKI, JOHN - MO BOTANICAL GARDEN

Submitted to: Flora Mesoamericana
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/5/2003
Publication Date: 5/5/2003
Citation: Spooner, D.M., Pruski, J. 2003. Simsia Persoon for Flora Mesoamerica. Flora Mesoamericana. 11:171-126.

Interpretive Summary: A flora is a compilation of names of plants, their descriptions, and distributions for a defined geographic area. Flora Mesoamericana is a floristic treatment of the plants of southern Mexico and Central America. The Flora Mesoamericana Project is a multi-year, multi-authored, and multi-volume work (to appear in Spanish and to appear on the web) that is producing the first modern comprehensive flora of this region. The genus Simsia is a genus of sunflower relatives growing from the southwestern United States to central Chile and adjacent Argentina. This paper provides a floristic treatment for the seventeen species present in the Flora Mesoamericana region. This contribution will greatly aid scientists and land managers understand the natural plant diversity present in this region.

Technical Abstract: The genus Simsia is a genus of wild sunflower relatives containing 20 species distributed from the southwestern United States to northern Argentina. This floristic treatment details the taxonomy and distribution of the seventeen species occurring in southern Mexico and Central America. These are: Simsia amplexicaulis, S. annectens, S. annectens var. grayi, S. chaseae, S. eurylepis, S. foetida, S. foetida var. foetida, S. foetida var. grandiflora, S. foetida var. panamensis, S. ghiesbreghtii, S. holwayi, S. lagascaeformis, S. molinae, S. sanguinea, S. santarosensis, S. steyermarkii, and S. villasenorii.