Description:

• Annual or perennial herbs
• Leaves alternate or sometimes opposite or rosulate, entire to bipinnatisect
• Capitula disciform or rarely radiate, few- to many-flowered, solitary, pedunculate; peduncle ± solid or sometimes inflated below head
• Involucre subglobose or campanulate; bracts in ± 2 rows, usually scarious at least at margins
• Receptacle flat to conical, often toothed with persistent pedicels, epaleate
• Marginal florets female, fertile, in 1 or several rows, generally stalked; corolla tube short or absent, lamina generally absent, white if present
• Disc florets bisexual, fertile, or functionally male; corolla tube campanulate, funnel-shaped, tubular or 4-angled, sometimes tubular below, expanded above, sometimes compressed or winged, sometimes pouched at base and wholly or partially enveloping ovary, 4-lobed, occasionally 3-lobed
• Anthers ecalcarate and ecaudate, with ovate or lanceolate, apical appendage
• Style branches of female flowers linear-lanceolate, of bisexual flowers oblong, truncate, penicillate
• Cypselas generally stipitate, dorsally compressed, often laterally winged, generally with blunt uniseriate hairs
• Pappus 0
• x = 13 (8, 9, 10, 12) (aneuploids, high polyploidy)

Nomenclature:

• Cotula L.
  • Linnaeus: 891 (1753)
  • Harvey: 177 (1865)
  • Levyns: 131 (1941)
  • Levyns: 805 (1950)
  • Phillips: 826 (1951)
  • Hilliard & Burtt: 119 (1970)
  • Hilliard: 350 (1977)
  • Bremer & Humphries: 157 (1993)
  • Bremer: 472 (1994)
  • Herman: 244 (1995)
• Lancisia Fabr.
  • Fabricius: 87 (1759)
• Cenia Comm.
  • Commerson: 183 (1789)
  • Harvey: 184 (1865).
• Otochlamys DC.
  • Candolle: 77 (1838)
  • Harvey: 176 (1865)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species ± 55, Africa, Australia, South America
• Southern Africa: Species 43, widespread