Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Alternanthera filifolia subsp. filifolia (Hook. f.) J.T. Howell

alternantera hilo, thread - leafed chaff flower

Alternanthera filifolia ssp. filifolia (Hook. f.) Howell Photo: Patricia Jaramillo, Rachel Atkinson, Anne Guézou, CDF, 2007.
Alternanthera filifolia ssp. filifolia (Hook. f.) Howell Photo: Patricia Jaramillo, Rachel Atkinson, Anne Guézou, CDF, 2007.

A compact shrub with fine long green leaves that look like extensions of the stems. The compact papery white flowers cover the shrub all year round.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Plantae

Phylum
Magnoliophyta

Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)

Order
Caryophyllales

Family
Amaranthaceae

Genus
Alternanthera

Species
filifolia

Subspecies
subsp. filifolia

Taxon category: Species with Infraspecific Taxa

Syn.: Achyranthes hookeri Standl., Bucholtzia filifolia Hook. f., Telanthera filifolia (Hook. f.) Moq. fide Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew & Missouri Botanical Garden (2010)

Origin: Endemic

Status

Least concern

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

References

  • Andersson, N.J. (1855) Om Galápagos Öarnes Vegetation. Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps Akademien Handl., Stockholm: 61-256.
  • Atkinson, R. Guézou, A. & Jaramillo, P. (2009) Siémbrame en tu jardín - Plantas nativas para jardines en Galápagos. Fundación Charles Darwin, Puerto Ayora, Galápagos, Ecuador, 151 pp.
  • Hooker, J.D. (1847) An Enumeration of the Plants of the Galapagos Archipelago; with descriptions of those which are new. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 20: 163-233.
  • Itow, S. (1997) List of Plant Specimens collected in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Natural Science, 38 (1): 53-144.
  • Robinson, B.L. (1902) Flora of the Galapagos Islands. Papers from the Hopkins-Stanford Expedition to the Galapgaos Islands. Proc. Amer. Acad. 38(4): 78-270.
  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Missouri Botanical Garden (eds.) (2013) The Plant List, Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 1st January).
  • Stewart, A. (1911) A botanical survey of the Galápagos Islands. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 4th Series, 1: 7-288.
  • Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
  • Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Alternanthera filifolia subsp. filifolia", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=144. Accessed 4 April 2026.