Afrocarduus

Afrocarduus is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae. It includes ten species of thistles native to the mountains of tropical Africa, ranging from Nigeria to Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. All the species in the genus are native to Afromontane or Afroalpine regions of Africa, from 1,600 to 4,600 metres (5,200 to 15,100 ft) elevation Some are restricted to a single mountain or mountain range, while others are native to two or more ranges, some widespread. The species now placed in genus Afrocarduus were previously placed in genus Carduus as subgenus Afrocarduus. The sub-Saharan African species have morphological and karyological features of genera Carduus and Cirsium. A phylogenetic study by Moreyra et al. concluded that these African species formed a clade distinct from Carduus and Cirsium, and sister to the newly described genus Afrocirsium....read more on Wikipedia.