Krigia is a genus of small flowering herbs in the family Asteraceae (order Asterales), native to North America and commonly known as dwarf dandelions or dwarfdandelions. The genus was formally described by Schreber in 1791.
Plants in Krigia are annual or perennial herbs arising from fibrous root systems or taproots; one species (K. dandelion) is notable for producing rhizomes bearing starchy tubers. Stems may be solitary or numerous — sometimes 50 or more — and typically grow erect, ranging from a few centimetres to about 75 cm in height. Most foliage is basal; leaves are commonly linear to lance-shaped, toothed or lobed, and borne on winged petioles. Some stems carry leaves higher up, particularly in taller species. Flower heads are solitary, positioned at stem tips or on stalks from leaf axils, and contain up to 60 small yellow or orange florets of the ligulate (ray) type characteristic of dandelion relatives. The fruit is a hairless, ribbed cypsela (a dry one-seeded achene-like fruit), occasionally topped by a feathery pappus that aids wind dispersal.
The genus comprises roughly seven to eight species confined almost entirely to eastern and central North America, with the range extending into southern Canada. Krigia biflora is the most widespread member, occurring across much of the eastern, central, and southwestern United States as well as central Canada. Krigia montana is a narrow Appalachian endemic, while Krigia virginica reaches into Ontario and British Columbia. Within Asteraceae, Krigia belongs to the tribe Cichorieae alongside dandelions (Taraxacum), chicory (Cichorium), and hawkweeds (Hieracium).
Etymology
The genus name Krigia honours David Krig (also spelled Krieg), an early 18th-century German physician and plant collector who gathered specimens in Maryland around 1700. The name was applied by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1791.
Distribution
Krigia is native to North America, with the majority of species concentrated in the eastern and south-central United States. K. biflora ranges broadly across the eastern, central, and southwestern US into central Canada; K. montana is restricted to the southern Appalachians; and K. virginica also occurs in Ontario and British Columbia.
Taxonomy Notes
Krigia Schreb. was published in Schreber's Genera Plantarum (p. 532) in 1791. It is placed in family Asteraceae, order Asterales, class Magnoliopsida (dicots). Within Asteraceae it belongs to tribe Cichorieae (the chicory tribe), characterized by all-ligulate flower heads and milky latex. GBIF records 33 descendant taxa under the backbone entry (including infraspecific names and synonyms), with approximately seven to eight accepted species currently recognized.
