Australian waterbuttons vs Common brassbuttons

Cotula australis compared with Cotula coronopifolia

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Australian waterbuttons	Common brassbuttons
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family same	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus same	Cotula	Cotula
Species	Cotula australis	Cotula coronopifolia

Evolutionary Relationship

Australian waterbuttons and Common brassbuttons share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Cotula.

View Genus: Cotula

Conservation Status

Australian waterbuttons

NE — Not Evaluated

Common brassbuttons

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Australian waterbuttons	Common brassbuttons
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Australian waterbuttons

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including flooded grasslands and savannas, deserts and xeric shrublands, and mangrove forests and coastal wetlands within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Madagascar, South Africa), Asia (4 countries), Europe (10 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), and South America (6 countries).

Common brassbuttons

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Morocco), Asia (Japan), Europe (15 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), and South America (6 countries).

Australian waterbuttons

The Australian waterbuttons (Cotula australis) is a species in the genus Cotula. Found across multiple habitat types including flooded grasslands and savannas, deserts and xeric shrublands, and mangrove forests and coastal wetlands within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm.

Common brassbuttons

Common brassbuttons (<em>Cotula coronopifolia</em>) is a small annual or perennial herb with a remarkably broad global distribution, occurring across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. This species typically inhabits diverse terrestrial environments, often colonizing wet or damp areas such as salt marshes, mudflats, stream margins, and disturbed roadsides. The common brassbuttons has not been formally evaluated on the IUCN Red List. A member of the family Asteraceae, it produces distinctive button-like yellow flowerheads that give the species its common name. Originally native to southern Africa, the species has spread widely and is considered naturalized or invasive in many regions outside its native range. It often thrives in seasonally flooded habitats and tolerates saline soils, demonstrating considerable ecological flexibility. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.