Zinnia

Annual or perennial herbs, sometimes shrubby. Leaves opposite, sessile or shortly petiolate, simple, bases connate and sheathing stem, margins entire, roughly hairy. Capitula radiate, large, solitary, terminal on long, hollow peduncle swollen below capitulum. Involucre narrowly or broadly campanulate or subcylindric; bracts in 3 to many rows, oblong or obovate, imbricate, apices rounded with darker or discoloured summit band at or near apex. Receptacle conical to concave, with paleae conduplicate, embracing disc florets. Ray florets female, fertile; corolla strap-shaped, discolorous, outer surface greyish white, inner surface reddish or brownish red, drying purplish, persistent. Cypselas 3-angled or dorsiventrally compressed. Pappus 0. Disc florets bisexual, fertile; corolla brownish yellow, tubular, 5-toothed. Anthers with small apical appendage, base obtuse. Style branches long, linear, obtuse or subtruncate. Cypselas obovate, 3-angled or compressed. Pappus of 1 or 2 awns. x = 10, 11, 12 (7, 9, 13) (aneuploids, polyploidy, B-chromosomes).