Cota is a genus of flowering plants in the chamomile tribe (Anthemideae), within the sunflower family Asteraceae (order Asterales). It comprises herbaceous plants with flower heads bearing white or yellow ray florets surrounding yellow disc florets — the same daisy-like form typical of the chamomile group. The genus is native to Europe, North Africa, and southwestern Asia, with a handful of species naturalized beyond that range.
Cota was published by the French botanist Jaques Étienne Gay, with the name validated as "J.Gay ex Guss." in Gussone's Florae Siculae Synopsis (1845). It was split out from the larger, closely related genus Anthemis, with which it is still easily confused today; the image traditionally used to illustrate Cota online remains catalogued under the older synonym name Anthemis tinctoria (dyer's chamomile), underscoring how recent and incomplete the taxonomic separation is in public reference material.
GBIF's backbone lists 27 accepted species under Cota, closely matching the roughly two dozen species enumerated on Wikipedia's genus page, including Cota tinctoria, Cota altissima, Cota triumfetti, Cota palaestina, and Cota amblyolepis. Many species have restricted ranges within the genus's broader native area — several are known only from Turkey, the Caucasus, or the Levant — consistent with the eastern Mediterranean and Anatolian center of diversity typical of the wider Anthemideae tribe.
Distribution
Cota is native to Europe, North Africa, and southwestern Asia, with a few species naturalized elsewhere. Its species diversity is concentrated in the eastern Mediterranean and Anatolia, with several species known only from Turkey, the Caucasus, or the Levant.
Taxonomy Notes
Cota was described by Jaques Étienne Gay and validated as "J.Gay ex Guss." in Gussone's Florae Siculae Synopsis (1845). It belongs to the chamomile tribe Anthemideae within Asteraceae and was split from the closely related genus Anthemis, with which some online reference imagery (e.g., the genus's own lead photo, still filed under the synonym Anthemis tinctoria) has yet to catch up. GBIF's accepted backbone lists 27 species in the genus.
