Go to Midwest Weeds and Wildflowers Home Page

Southern Brass Buttons

Cotula australis (Sieber ex Spreng.) Hook f.

Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

▲▼ seedlings

▲▼mature, flowering plants

▲▼mature, flowering plants

Cotula australis (Sieber ex Spreng.) Hook. f., Southern Brassbuttons:  (Bayer Code:  CULAU; US Code COAU3)

·         Ground-hugging annual weed native to Australia that grows 1-4 inches tall

·         Leaves and stems are light green, fleshy (as it matures) and stems are much-branched from the base, and along the branches

·         Leaves are alternate, pinnately lobed, and lobes are oval with a pointed tip; leaves may be fragrant/odorous

·         Tiny head inflorescences are about 0.25 inch across, with white to pale yellow disk flowers (no ray flowers)

·         Flower heads are at tips of bare flowering stems, and are about 1 inch diameter; no ray flowers and disk flowers are white to pale yellow; flower stalks elongate as the flower matures and produces seed

·         Bracts below the head are triangular and green and extend beyond the flowers as the head matures

·         Common in turf, landscapes, gardens, cultivated crops, disturbed sites, non-crop areas

·         Reproduces readily by seed

Go to Midwest Weeds and Wildflowers Home Page