The reinstatement ofLeptinellaat generic rank, and the status of the ‘Cotuleae’ (Asteraceae, Anthemideae)

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Abstract
Leptinella Cass. has for more than one hundred years been relegated to sectional rank within Cotula L. All species of Leptinella are distinguished from those of the other two sections of Cotula, and other Anthemideae, by the conspicuous “inflated” corollas of the female florets and by chromosome numbers based on x = 26 where known; most species are also distinguished by a suite of habit characters. Of the genera at times included in the ‘Cotuleae’, only Soliva sens. lat. is clearly related to Cotula; most other genera have been referred to other tribes or are of uncertain affinities. The relationship of Leptinella to Cotula sect. Cotula and sect. Strongylosperma, and to Soliva remains unclear, but Leptinella is undoubtedly monophyletic and is sufficiently distinct to warrant recognition at generic level. We reinstate the genus Leptinella and make all necessary combinations. Leptinella is a genus of 33 species distributed in New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, the Subantarctic Islands, and South America.