Melanthera confusa Britton

• Title

  Melanthera confusa Britton

• Authors

  Nathaniel Lord Britton, Frances W. Horne

• Scientific Name

  Melanthera confusa Britton

• Description

  Flora Borinqueña Melanthera confusa Halberd-leaved Melanthera Family Carduaceae Thistle Family Melanthera confusa Britton; Britton and Wilson, Scientific Survey of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands 6: 309.1925. A tall, broad-leaved, herbaceous plant, frequent, or occasional on hillsides and in thickets at lower elevations in Porto Rico, growing also on Culebra Island. It also inhabits Cuba, and the British Virgin Island Tortola, and probably other parts of the West Indies. The species has been confused with the related Melanthera hestata of the southeastern United States, Cuba, the Bahamas, Mexico and Central America; its long-stalked heads of white flowers are not as attractive as those of the coastal Melanthera nivea. For an account of the genus Melanthera we refer to our description of Melanthera nivea. Melanthera confusa is upright, about a meter high, or lower, the slender, 4-sided branches sparingly appressed-hairy. The stalkless, pointed, ovate, or triangular-ovate, often hastately 3-lobed, toothed leaves are from 5 to 10 centimeters long, the upper surface rough, the under side short-hairy. The heads of small, white flowers are from 10 to 15 millimeters in diameter; solitary, or 2 or 3 together; the bracts of the involucre are oblong to lanceolate, pointed, densely appressed-hairy, about 5 millimeters long. The achenes, about 2.5 millimeters long, bear pappus-awns 1.5 to 3 millimeters long.