Ligularia
Ligularia Cass.
Ligularia is a Eurasian genus with ca. 125-140 species (Mabberley 2008, Liu & Illarionova 2011). Only two species are native in Europe (Chater 1976) while its highest diversity obviously lies in eastern temperate Asia with 123 species in China (of which 89 endemic) (Liu & Illarionova 2011). Out of these several are cultivated as garden ornamentals (e.g. Dress 1962, Schmid 1989, Springate 2000, Jäger & al. 2008), the least rare probably being Ligularia dentata (A. Gray) H. Hara. This species has also naturalized locally outside of its native distribution area, for instance in North America (Barkley 2006) and has been recorded as an escape or more or less established throw-out in Belgium as well. The identification of plants in cultivation is often complicated, partly as a result of hybridization. Some are probably best referred to as ‘groups’ or ‘aggregates’, for instance the Ligularia sibirica group or L. fischeri group (Springate 2000).
Literature:
Barkley T.M. (2006) Ligularia. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (eds.), Flora of North America, vol. 20. Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford: 613-614. [available online at: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=118542]
Chater A.O. (1976) Ligularia. In: Tutin T.G. & al. (eds.), Flora Europaea, vol. 4. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 205.
Dress W.J. (1962) Notes on the cultivated Compositae, 7. Ligularia. Baileya 10: 62-87.
Handel-Mazzetti H. (1938) Die chinesischen Arten der Gattung Ligularia. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 69: 95-142.
Illarionova I.D. (2006) Genus Ligularia Cass. (Asteraceae) in Central Asia (in Russian). Novitates Systematicae Plantarum Vascularium 38: 229-244.
Jäger E.J., Ebel F., Hanelt P. & Müller G. (eds.) (2008) Rothmaler Band 5. Exkursionsflora von Deutschland. Krautige Zier- und Nutzpflanzen. Springer Verlag, Berlin: 880 p.
Liu J.Q., Wang T.J., Wang A.L., Ohba H. & Abbott R.J. (2006) Radiation and diversification within the Ligularia–Cremanthodium–Parasenecio complex (Asteraceae) triggered by uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 38: 31-49.
Liu S.W., Deng D.S. & Liu J.Q. (1994) The origin, evolution and distribution of Ligularia Cass. (Compositae). Acta Phytotax. Sin. 32(6): 514-524.
Liu S. & Illarionova I.D. (2011) Ligularia. In: Wu Z.U., Raven P.H. & Hong D.Y. (eds.), Flora of China, vol. 20-21. Science Press, Beijing, Missouri Botanical
Garden Press, St. Louis: 376-415. [available online at: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=118542]
Mabberley D.J. (2008) Mabberley’s plant-book (3th ed.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: XVIII + 1021 p.
Mathur R. (1995) Senecioneae. In: Hajra P.K., Rao R.R., Singh D.K. & Uniyal B.P. (eds.), Flora of India, vol. 13. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta: 186-323.
Nomura N., Takaso T., Peng C.I., Kono Y., Oginuma K., Mitsui Y. & Setoguchi H. (2010) Molecular phylogeny and habitat diversification of the genus Farfugium (Asteraceae) based on nuclear rDNA and plastid DNA. Ann. Bot. 106(3): 467-482.
Schmid E. (1989) Ligularien – Solitärstauden für feuchte Böden. Gartenpraxis 10: 8-13.
Springate L.S. (2000) Ligularia. In: Cullen J. & al. (eds.), The European Garden Flora, vol. 6. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 632-635.