Silkleaf, acuate, American softhead
Propagule or dispersal unit is the fruit. Fertile part 3-3.5 mm long, 0.8-1.5 mm wide, in side view widest in upper part (obovoid), +/- straight, the upper (apical) end narrowing, in cross-section flattened, basal scar (carpopodium) inconspicuous and undifferentiated, central or off to the side (oblique) or at least asymmetric, wings absent, fruit surface black, smooth (except at cellular level), with no hairs (glabrous), woolly / crispate hairs, thickened margin absent, longitudinal ribs present, rarely absent (by misinterpretation), 7-15, their surfaces smooth, with no hairs (glabrous), woolly / crispy hairs, rarely simple straight hairs (by misinterpretation).
Pappus absent, but the key accommodates a misinterpretation of the woolly hairs at the fruit apex as a pappus of scales.
Annual herb, fruits dispersed passively. Tropical regions. Found in agricultural areas and wastelands.
Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina.
United States (Florida), Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Fiji.
NAQS target species.