Afrocarduus
Afrocarduus keniensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Subfamily:	Carduoideae
Tribe:	Cardueae
Subtribe:	Carduinae
Genus:	Afrocarduus ( Kazmi) N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna (2023)
Type species
Afrocarduus leptacanthus (Fresen.) N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna [2]
Species [1]
10; see text
Synonyms [2]
Carduus subgenus Afrocarduus Kazmi (1963)

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. ^[1]

All the species in the genus are native to Afromontane or Afroalpine regions of Africa, ranging from 1600 and 4600 meters elevation. Some are restricted to a single mountain or mountain range, while others are native to two or more ranges, some widespread. ^[2]

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. ^[2]

Species

Ten species are accepted. ^{[1] [2]}

• Afrocarduus afromontanus (R.E.Fr.) N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna – Kenya ( Mount Kenya and Aberdare Range) and Uganda
• Afrocarduus keniensis (R.E.Fr.) N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna – Kenya ( Mount Elgon and Mount Kenya), Tanzania ( Kilimanjaro), and Uganda
• Afrocarduus kikuyorum (R.E.Fr.) N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna –  Albertine Rift mountains of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, western Uganda, and Rwanda; Southern Highlands and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania; Mount Nyiru in Kenya
• Afrocarduus leptacanthus (Fresen.) N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna – Ethiopia; Albertine Rift of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda; Southern Highlands in Tanzania; Mau Escarpment in Kenya
• Afrocarduus macracanthus (Kazmi) N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna –  Ethiopian Highlands in Ethiopia
• Afrocarduus millefolius (R.E.Fr.) N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna – Mount Kenya in Kenya
• Afrocarduus nyassanus (S.Moore) N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna – Nigeria and Cameroon to Ethiopia and Zimbabwe
• Afrocarduus ruwenzoriensis (S.Moore) N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna –  Ruwenzori Mountains of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda
• Afrocarduus schimperi (Sch.Bip.) N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna – Ethiopia and South Sudan to Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Afrocarduus silvarum (R.E.Fr.) N.Garcia, Moreyra & Susanna – Kenya

References