Mikania micrantha Kunth

Family Description

Annual, biennial or perennial herbs, sometimes shrubs, rarely trees, tissues sometimes containing milky sap, glabrous, pubescent, tomentose, spinous or variously sessile- or stipitate-glandular. Leaves alternate or sometimes opposite, exstipulate (but sometimes with stipuliform appendages), entire, toothed, lobed or variously dissected. Individual flowers usually numerous, aggregated and ± sessile (briefly immersed to very shortly stipitate) on a common receptacle and surrunded by an involucre of 1-many series of phyllaries (involucral bracts),the whole comprising a capitulum; phyllaries free, rarely connate; capitula solitary to very many, rarely agreegrated into secondary capitulum-like glomerules.Receptable sometimes bearing paleae (scales), hairs or bristles.Flowers (florets)epigynous, bisexual, female, m ale(at least functionally so) or neuter (sterile). Calyx absent, often replaced on apex of ovary by a pappus of 1 or more series of bristles and / orscales. Corolla gamopetalous, tabular throughout or dilated or 1(-2)-lipped above,variously truncate or 1-5-toothed at apex (appices); rarely corolla absent. Stamens (1-)5, epipetalous, filaments free anthers laterally connate into a cylinder around style (free in one species). Ovary inferior, 1-celled with one basal ovule; style usually divided above into two branches, sometimes entire on male flowers, emerging through anther cylinder, first collecting and exposing pollen,later exposing stigmatic surfaces if bisexual. Fruit an achene (cypsela) usually bearing a persistent or deciduous pappus; pappus sessile or borne on a beak(rostrum).

Genus Description

Scandent twining annual or short-lived perennial herb. Leaves opposite, simple, 3-veined, petiolate. Capitula small. 4-flowered, discoid, in axillary corymbs. Involucre of 4 subequal phyllaries, with a smaller additional bract at base. Receptacle naked. Corollas tubular-campanulate. 5-toothed. Anther bases obtuse. Style branches linear. Achenes oblong, 4-angled, glandular-punctate and somewhat puberulous. Pappus of 1 series of bristles, somewhat shorter than corolla.

Species description

Stems subglabrous. Leaf blade ovate-triangular, 5-8 x 2-6cm, acute or acuminate, cordate at base, subentire to bluntlydenate, subglabrous, sometimes glandular-punctate; petioles up to 5cm. Capitula numerous. Involucres 1.5mm diameter; phyllaries oblong, 3.5-4 x 1.2mm, acute or shortly acuminate, subglabrous. Corollas greenish-white, 3mm. Achenes c 2mm. Pappus white, 2.5mm.