Actites, commonly known as the dune thistle, beach thistle or coastal sow thistle, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is endemic to Australia and contains only one species, Actites megalocarpa . It is a large, clumping herb with yellow flowers.
Description
Actites megalocarpus is a fleshy perennial herb. The leaves are stiff, prominently veined, margins toothed and wavy, elliptic to oblanceolate shaped, long, wide, either tapering at the base or heart-shaped and sessile. The yellow dandelion-like flowers are in diameter, occasionally pale purple near the base, and on a peduncle long. The bracts are narrow-triangular shaped, the lower midrib of outer bracts has spines. Flowering occurs from September to June and the fruit is a compressed, light to dark brown one-seeded achene, long with 3 longitudinal ribs.
Taxonomy and naming
Actites megalocarpus was first formally described in 1976 by Nicholas Sean Lander and the description was published in Telopea. The specific epithet (megalocarpus) means "large fruited".
Distribution and habitat
Dune thistle is usually found on coastal dunes and cliffs from Toorbul in Queensland to Middleton Beach in Western Australia and the south-east coast of Tasmania.
References
Flora of Victoria (state) Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Tasmania Eudicots of Western Australia Flora of South Australia Monotypic Asteraceae genera Plants described in 1976