Borrichia arborescens

Borrichia arborescens (L.) DC.

Common Names: Sea Ox-eye, Bay Marigold

Family: Asteraceae

Habit: Borrichia arborescens is a semi succulent perennial shrub to 1.5 meters in height. The leaves are arranged oppositely, to 12 cm in length and glabrous or covered with silvery tomentose hairs, with a dentate or entire margin, tapering leaf base and acuminate leaf apex.

The monoecious, complete, perfect actinomorphic (disc) and incomplete, imperfect, zygomorphic  (ray)flowers are arranged in heads. The heads are subtended by a series of involucral bracts. The calyx is modified as a ring of small projections (pappus). There are both perfect and imperfect (carpellate) flowers in the heads. The perfect flowers are in the center and the imperfect flowers are arranged around the edge of the heads. Each flower is subtended by a bract. The ray flowers have 3 white fused petals and no stamens. The disc flowers have a corolla with 5 fused, yellow petals. There are 5 stamens fused at their base. In both types of flowers the ovary is inferior with a single locule but only the disc flowers have functional ovules. The fruit is an achene at maturity that retains the modified calyx (pappus) that is fused forming a shallow cup.

Habitat: Borrichia arborescens grows in coastal areas such as Dunes and Rocky Shores.

Distribution: Borrichia arborescens occurs throughout the Lucayan Archipelago, Caribbean, Florida.

Medicinal/Cultural/Economic usage: Borrichia arborescens is not known to be used medicinally in the Lucayan Archipelago.