Verbesina

Verbesina, or crownbeard, is a genus of flowering plants, in the daisy family (Asteraceae). It is a large genus of over 300 species. All the species bear white or yellow flowers similar to small sunflowers. The name Verbesina very likely refers to the similarity of the foliage to that of the (unrelated) Verbena. Verbesina species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species. These include Schinia bina, which has been recorded from V. encelioides, and Schinia siren which feeds exclusively on that species. Pollen grains from eight of the nine species of Verbesina found in Brazil have been characterized as oblate-speroidal, medium-sized, isopolar monads. They are 3-colplorate with a subtriangular amb, a small polar area, a long colpus, a lalongate endoaperture, a caveate exine and an echinate sexine.