Engelmannia is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae (order Asterales), described by Asa Gray in the early 1840s from a manuscript name of Thomas Nuttall. It is native to south-central North America, ranging across the southern Great Plains of the central United States and into Texas, New Mexico, and the northern Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Nuevo León.
Taxonomic treatments of the genus differ in scope. GBIF's backbone taxonomy treats Engelmannia as monotypic, with a single accepted species, Engelmannia peristenia (commonly known as Engelmann's daisy), and folds several previously described names — including Engelmannia pinnatifida, Engelmannia texana, and Angelandra pinnatifida — into synonymy with it. Older sources instead list Engelmannia pinnatifida as a second, separate species alongside E. peristenia.
The genus name and the common name "Engelmann's daisy" both reflect the plant's placement within the sunflower family alongside the region's many other daisy-like Asteraceae.
Distribution
Engelmannia occurs in south-central North America: the southern Great Plains of the central United States, Texas, and New Mexico, extending south into the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Nuevo León.
Taxonomy Notes
GBIF's backbone taxonomy treats Engelmannia as monotypic, with Engelmannia peristenia as the sole accepted species and Engelmannia pinnatifida (along with Engelmannia texana and Angelandra pinnatifida) reduced to synonymy. Some older references, including the Wikipedia article, instead list Engelmannia pinnatifida as a distinct second species.
