Paepalanthus
Paepalanthus is a genus of plants in the family Eriocaulaceae. It includes 451 species native to the Americas (southeastern United States, southern Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and tropical South America), west and central tropical Africa, and Madagascar.
Plants of the World Online currently accepts 451 species. In 2023 Caroline Oliveira Andrino et al. published the most extensive molecular and morphological analysis of the genus to date, along with the broadest sampling of inflorescences in the family. They concluded the genus as then circumscribed was polyphyletic, and proposed six new genera (Coracoralina, Floralia, Giuliettia, Gnomus, Hydriade, and Nisius), redefining two subgenera as genera (Cryptanthella and Monosperma), reestablishing Actinocephalus, Lachnocaulon, and Tonina, and recircumscribing Paepalanthus as a monophyletic genus with 257 species which is largely restricted to the campos rupestres of the Espinhaço Range and adjacent mountains, with few species in the Serra da Mantiqueira complex, restingas of the coast of Brazil, with a disjunct distribution (Paepalanthus subg. Platycaulon) in the Andean paramo. As of April 2026 Plants of the World Online accepts the paraphyletic Monosperma as a distinct genus, and treats the other proposed genera as synonyms of Paepalanthus.
60 branches of this genus, most-observed first
common bogbuttons
speciesPaepalanthus anceps
Paepalanthus alpinus
speciesPaepalanthus alpinus
Paepalanthus chiquitensis
speciesPaepalanthus chiquitensis
Southern Bogbutton
speciesPaepalanthus beyrichianus
Paepalanthus fluviatilis
speciesPaepalanthus fluviatilis
Small's Bogbutton
speciesPaepalanthus minor
Cryptanthella
subsectionCryptanthella
Paepalanthus lamarckii
speciesPaepalanthus lamarckii
Paepalanthus planifolius
speciesPaepalanthus planifolius
Paepalanthus pulvinatus
speciesPaepalanthus pulvinatus
Paepalanthus acanthophyllus
speciesPaepalanthus acanthophyllus
Paepalanthus fasciculatus
speciesPaepalanthus fasciculatus
Paepalanthus bromelioides
speciesPaepalanthus bromelioides
Paepalanthus bifidus
speciesPaepalanthus bifidus
Paepalanthus urbanianus
speciesPaepalanthus urbanianus
Paepalanthus oyapockensis
speciesPaepalanthus oyapockensis
Paepalanthus ensifolius
speciesPaepalanthus ensifolius
Paepalanthus itatiaiensis
speciesPaepalanthus itatiaiensis
Paepalanthus elongatus
speciesPaepalanthus elongatus
Paepalanthus costaricensis
speciesPaepalanthus costaricensis
Paepalanthus trichophyllus
speciesPaepalanthus trichophyllus
Paepalanthus koernickei
speciesPaepalanthus koernickei
Paepalanthus subtilis
speciesPaepalanthus subtilis
Paepalanthus canastrensis
speciesPaepalanthus canastrensis
Paepalanthus erectifolius
speciesPaepalanthus erectifolius
Paepalanthus regalis
speciesPaepalanthus regalis
Paepalanthus irwinii
speciesPaepalanthus irwinii
Paepalanthus aretioides
speciesPaepalanthus aretioides
Paepalanthus stellatus
speciesPaepalanthus stellatus
Paepalanthus celsus
speciesPaepalanthus celsus
Paepalanthus myocephalon
speciesPaepalanthus myocephalon
Paepalanthus calvescens
speciesPaepalanthus calvescens
Paepalanthus polytrichoides
speciesPaepalanthus polytrichoides
Paepalanthus pulchellus
speciesPaepalanthus pulchellus
Paepalanthus fasciculoides
speciesPaepalanthus fasciculoides
Paepalanthus tortilis
speciesPaepalanthus tortilis
Paepalanthus argenteus
speciesPaepalanthus argenteus
Paepalanthus flaccidus
speciesPaepalanthus flaccidus
Paepalanthus vellozioides
speciesPaepalanthus vellozioides
Paepalanthus macer
speciesPaepalanthus macer
Paepalanthus comans
speciesPaepalanthus comans
Paepalanthus capixaba
speciesPaepalanthus capixaba
Paepalanthus longibracteatus
speciesPaepalanthus longibracteatus
Paepalanthus cassiae
speciesPaepalanthus cassiae
Paepalanthus albovaginatus
speciesPaepalanthus albovaginatus
Paepalanthus cordatus
speciesPaepalanthus cordatus
Paepalanthus niger
speciesPaepalanthus niger
Paepalanthus klotzschianus
speciesPaepalanthus klotzschianus
Paepalanthus spathulatus
speciesPaepalanthus spathulatus
Paepalanthus lanatus
speciesPaepalanthus lanatus
Paepalanthus bryoides
speciesPaepalanthus bryoides
Paepalanthus atratus
speciesPaepalanthus atratus
Paepalanthus macropodus
speciesPaepalanthus macropodus
Paepalanthus acantholimon
speciesPaepalanthus acantholimon
Paepalanthus villosulus
speciesPaepalanthus villosulus
Paepalanthus echinoides
speciesPaepalanthus echinoides
Paepalanthus catharinae
speciesPaepalanthus catharinae
Paepalanthus usterii
speciesPaepalanthus usterii
Paepalanthus lundii
speciesPaepalanthus lundii
Paepalanthus aequalis
speciesPaepalanthus aequalis
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Paepalanthus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 82151.