Ptilostemon

Ptilostemon chamaepeuce (Typus; Sibthorp & Smith, Flora Graeca. Vol. 9, pl. 847; as Serratula chamaepeuce)

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Asterales
Classification System: APG IV Superregnum: Eukaryota Regnum: Plantae Cladus: Angiosperms Cladus: Eudicots Cladus: Core eudicots Cladus: Asterids Cladus: Campanulids Ordo: Asterales

Familia: Asteraceae
Subfamilia: Carduoideae
Tribus: Cardueae
Subtribus: Carduinae
Genus: Ptilostemon
Species: P. abylensis – P. afer – P. casabonae – P. chamaepeuce – P. diacantha – P. dyricola – P. echinocephalus – P. gnaphaloides – P. greuteri – P. hispanicus – P. leptophyllus – P. niveus – P. rhiphaeus – P. stellatus – P. strictus
Nothospecies: P. × grandei – P. × pabotii – P. × parisiensis – P. × tauricola 

Name

Ptilostemon Cass., Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris 1816: 200 (1816).

• Type species: Ptilostemon chamaepeuce (L.) Less.

Synonyms

• Homotypic
  • Chamaepeuce DC., Prodr. 6: 657 (1838). nom. illeg.
  • Chamaepeuce sect. Ptilostemon (Cass.) DC., Prodr. 6: 657 (1838).
  • Staehelina subg. Chamaepeuce Raf., Fl. Tellur. 4: 118 (1838) (as “Chamepeuce”)
  • Carduus sect. Chamaepeuce Baill., Hist. Pl. 8: 7 (1886). nom. illeg.
  • Cirsium sect. Ptilostemon (Cass.) O.Hoffm. in H.G.A. Engler & K.A.E. Prantl, Natürl. Pflanzenfam. 4(5): 323 (1893).
  • Cirsium sect. Chamaepeuce Fiori in A. Fiori & G. Paoletti, Fl. Anal. Ital. 3: 362 (1904). nom. illeg.
  • Cirsium subg. Chamaepeuce (Raf.) Petrak, Oesterr. Bot. Z. 64: 455 (1914).
• Heterotypic
  • Cirsium subg. Lamyra Cass., Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris 1818: 168 (1816).
    • Type species: Carduus stellatus L. (= Ptilostemon stellatus (L.) Greuter)
    • Lamyra (Cass.) Cass., Dict. Sci. Nat. 25: 218 (1822).
    • Cirsium sect. Lamyra (Cass.) O.Hoffm. in H.G.A. Engler & K.A.E. Prantl, Natürl. Pflanzenfam. 4(5): 323 (1893).
  • Platyraphium Cass., Dict. Sci. Nat. 35: 173 (1825).
    • Type species: Carduus diacantha Labill (= Ptilostemon diacantha (Labill.) Greuter)
    • Chamaepeuce sect. Platyraphium (Cass.) DC., Prodr. 6: 659 (1838).
  • Koechlea Endl., Gen. Pl. Suppl. 2: 48 (1842).
    • Type species: Koechlea mitis Endl. (= Ptilostemon chamaepeuce (L.) Less. var. camptolepis (Boiss.) Greuter)

Distribution

Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe Regional: Southwestern Europe Corse, France, Portugal (introduced), Sardegna, Spain. Regional: Southeastern Europe Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Romania, Sicilia, Yugoslavia. Regional: Eastern Europe Krym, Ukraine. Continental: Africa Regional: Northern Africa Algeria, Libya, Morocco. Continental: Asia-Temperate Regional: Caucasus North Caucasus, Transcaucasus. Regional: Western Asia Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Turkey. References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition

References

Primary references

• Cassini, A.H.G. de 1816. Aperçu des genres nouveaux formés dans la famille des Synanthérées. Premier fascicule. Bulletin des Sciences, par la Société Philomatique 1816: 198–200. BHL Reference page. 

Additional references

• Greuter, W. 1973. Monographie der Gattung Ptilostemon (Compositae). Boissiera 22: 1–215. PDF Reference page. 

Links

• Govaerts, R. et al. 2025. Ptilostemon in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2025 Jun 1. Reference page. 
• Tropicos.org 2025. Ptilostemon. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 1 Jun 2025. Reference page.
• International Plant Names Index. 2025. Ptilostemon. Published online. Accessed: 1 Jun 2025. Reference page.
• Hassler, M. 2025. World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. . Ptilostemon. Accessed: 1 Jun 2025.
• Euro+Med 2006 onwards: Ptilostemon in Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published online. Accessed: 2025 Jun 1.

Vernacular names

• Deutsch: Elfenbeindisteln
• suomi: Raappaohdakkeet

For more multimedia, look at Ptilostemon on Wikimedia Commons.