Tithonia rotundifolia

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Distribution Map: Based on vouchered plant specimens only. View county names by placing the mouse cursor over a particular county.

Species Distribution Map
Family:ASTERACEAE
Species:Tithonia rotundifolia (Mill.) S.F. Blake
Common Name:CLAVEL DE MUERTO
Habitat:Disturbed places, ruderal. Persisting after cultivation or rarely escaping.
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Shrub
Duration:Perennial
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:**
Plant Notes:Mexican sunflower is an introduced annual in the Sunflower family (Asteraceae). It is native to Mexico and Central America, but is widely cultivated in the United States. Mexican sunflower has been collected as an escape in one Alabama county where it was abundant on the right-of-way of a county road. Mexican sunflower is a frost tender annual with a tap root. Stems are 6-11 feet in height, and sparingly branched. Leaves are alternate, petiolate, deltate in outline, and usually 3-5 lobed. The lower surface of the leaf is glabrous or short pubescent. Flowers are produced in heads. The heads are solitary on long peduncles that are hollow, flattened, and inflated just below the head. Each head has 8-13 ray flowers that range in color from red, through orange, to yellow. There are 60-90 yellow disc flowers. The fruit is a flattened achene. Mexican sunflower is a popular ornamental that thrives in poor soils and is heat and drought tolerant. It is usually available as seed. The seed can be started indoors or seeded directly in the ground after danger of frost. Plants grown in rich soils will often need to be staked to prevent them from falling over. Spent flower heads should be removed to encourage re-flowering. Mexican sunflower attracts a wide range of pollinators and is recommended as a nectar plant for Monarch butterflies.--A. Diamond
Taxonomic Notes:This species was first collected in Alabama by A. Diamond in 2012. He subsequently published the finding in 2014.
Status:Not Native
References:Diamond, A.R. 2014. New and noteworthy vascular plant records from Alabama. Phytoneuron 2014-103: 1–10.
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyASTERACEAE - Aster family
Genus Tithonia
Species Tithonia rotundifolia (Mill.) S.F. Blake - CLAVEL DE MUERTO

Citation

Citation Tithonia rotundifolia (Miller) S.F. Blake, Contr. Gray Herb. 52: 41. 1917.
Basionym: Tagetes rotundifolia Mill. 1768.
Type: MEXICO: Veracruz: Cult. in England, s.d., Houstoun s.n. (holotype: BM).

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Helianthus speciosus Helianthus speciosus Hooker, Bot. Mag. 61: t. 3295. 1834. Without data (holotype: K).
Leighia speciosa Leighia speciosa (Hooker) de Candolle, Prodr. 5: 583. 1836.Helianthus speciosus Hooker 1834. 
Tagets rotundifolia Tagetes rotundifolia Miller, Gard. Dict., ed. 8. 1768. MEXICO: Veracruz: Cult. in England, s.d., Houstoun s.n. (holotype: BM).
Tithonia aristata Tithonia aristata Oersted, Vidensk. Meddel. Dansk Naturhist. Foren. Kjoebenhavn 1852: 114. 1852. COSTA RICA: Aguacate, s.d., Oersted s.n. (holotype: Drawing at C).

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Crenshaw, Houston

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, TROY, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: -

Barcode / Accession No. County Coll. Date Collector &
Collection No.		 Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used		 Image
ALNHS00008368 Houston 12 Sep 2023 Barger, T. Wayne
SP#6199		 ALNHS
Tithonia rotundifolia (P. Mill.) Blake
UWAL0031718 Crenshaw 14 Nov 2012 Diamond, Alvin R.
23558		 UWAL
Tithonia rotundifolia (Mill.) SF Blake
UWAL0016207 Crenshaw 14 Nov 2012 Diamond, Alvin R.
23558		 UWAL
Tithonia rotundifolia (Miller) S.F. Blake
TROY000039193 Crenshaw 14 Nov 2012 Diamond, Alvin R.
23558		 TROY
Tithonia rotundifolia (Miller) S. F. Blake
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