Cadiscus

Scientific name

Cadiscus E.Mey. ex DC

Family

Asteraceae

Similar genera

Cotula, Murdannia

Native distribution

locally endemicendemic:
(adj) restricted to a certain geographical location
in the Western Cape Province of South Africa

Species cultivated

not currently cultivated

Adventive distribution

none

Weed status

not weedy

Habit

small, succulent aquatic herb; juveniles submergedsubmerged:
(adj) (syn. submersed) under water; submerged below the water surface
, adults floating, emergentemergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
or temporally terrestrialterrestrial:
(adj) growing on land as opposed to living in water

Brief description

Small, succulent, with stems floating or nodes rooting in mud; stems glabrousglabrous:
(adj) without hairs or scales
, distantly branched. Leaves alternatealternate:
(adj) (of leaves) bearing one leaf per node; placed singly on the stem at different heights
, sessilesessile:
(adj) attached directly, without a stalk
; leaf bladeblade:
(n) (syn. lamina) the flat, expanded part of a leaf, frond, or petal (excluding, e.g., the petiole)
linear or lanceolatelanceolate:
(adj) lance-shaped; widest point below the middle, tapering to the apex
; apexapex:
(n) the point farthest from the point of attachment; the tip (often pointed)
acuteacute:
(adj) tapering to a sharp, pointed apex with more or less straight sides; broader than acuminate; forming an angle of less than 90 degrees
; base sheathing; marginmargin:
(n) edge; rim
entireentire:
(adj) having a continuous margin that is not toothed or lobed
; venationvenation:
(n) the arrangement of veins in a leaf
not obvious. Inflorescenceinflorescence:
(n) the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis
axillary in upper leaves, a solitary headhead:
(n) inflorescence consisting of small closely packed stalkless flowers or florets arising at the same level on a flattened axis; of several types, including: discoid (composed entirely of disk flowers) and radiate (composed of central disk flowers and marginal ray flowers)
; peduncles held above the water surface; heads obconical, white or yellowish; involucreinvolucre:
(n) a whorl of bracts subtending a flower, flower cluster, or inflorescence
with 8-10 phyllariesphyllary:
(n) an individual bract of the involucre in Asteracea flower heads
, partly united below; pappuspappus:
(n) modified calyx in the Asteraceae, composed of hairs, bristles, awns, or scales
10-12 coarse, rigid bristles; ray florets broadly ligulateligulate:
(adj) possessing or with a ligule
, in one row; disk florets tubulartubular:
(adj) (of a corolla, perianth, calyx tube or other structure) (1) tube-shaped; cylindrical: narrow and elongate with more or less straight sides; (2) having segments fused into a tube (of any shape)
, 5-toothed; stylestyle:
(n) in a flower, the narrow and elongated part of the pistil between the stigma and the ovary
branches truncatetruncate:
(adj) terminating abruptly, as if cut straight across
, with tuft of hairs.

Natural habitat

seasonal ponds, vernal pools and flood plains

Additional comments

A monotypicmonotypic:
(adj) represented by a single example (species)
genus, Cadiscus aquaticus is also known as Senecio cadiscus B.Nord. & Pelser.