Bad-smelling Alkanet vs Common brassbuttons

Alkanna maleolens compared with Cotula coronopifolia

Key Differences

• Bad-smelling Alkanet is Critically Endangered while Common brassbuttons is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bad-smelling Alkanet	Common brassbuttons
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Boraginales (Boraginales)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Boraginaceae	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Alkanna	Cotula
Species	Alkanna maleolens	Cotula coronopifolia

Evolutionary Relationship

Bad-smelling Alkanet and Common brassbuttons share a common ancestor at the Class level: Magnoliopsida. (Dicots)

Conservation Status

Bad-smelling Alkanet

CR — Critically Endangered

Common brassbuttons

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bad-smelling Alkanet	Common brassbuttons
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bad-smelling Alkanet

Habitat

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

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).

Bad-smelling Alkanet

The Bad-smelling Alkanet (Alkanna maleolens) is a species in the genus Alkanna. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

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.