Samuel Yang
on May 21, 2018 at 03:40 pmAjania pacifica
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Ajania
Species: A. pacificum
Binomial name: Ajania pacifica
Synonym: Chrysanthemum pacificum, Dendranthema pacificum
Common name: Gold and Silver Chrysanthemum
Description:
The Ajania pacifica (Nakai) K.Bremer & Humphries (1993) is an evergreen herbaceous plant, cespitose or shrubby, with erect standing, compact, 20-60 cm tall, which expands by means of underground stolons, forming tufts which are even 70-80 cm broad. It has alternate leaves on short petiole, 4-8 cm long, obovate, pinnate-lobate, of an intense green colour with silvery-white margins, covered by a silvery-grey tomentum on the lower side and by a slight white down on the upper page. Terminal inflorescences of about 10 cm of diameter with compound head, that is, formed by a main axis with several ramifications ending in a head, the typical inflorescence of the Compositae, of 0,6 cm of diameter, formed by a roundish base, the receptacle, on which is spirally inserted a host of tubular flowers with corolla formed by five united petals of gold yellow colour, the flowers are bisexual, but the outer ring , formed by female flowers.
The fruits, containing one seed only and called achenes (or, more correctly, cypselae) in the Compositae, are 1 mm long. It reproduces by seed in spring, by division, and, much easily, by semi-woody cutting in summer placed to root in soil formed for the 50% by sand or agri-perlite.