Pectis
(from pecten, a comb; referring to the pappus). Including Lorentea. ORD. Compositae. About forty species have been referred to this genus, but the number may be reduced. They are greenhouse or half-hardy, annual or perennial herbs, sometimes diffuse or prostrate, sometimes erect, slender, and glabrous, and are found in the warmer parts of America, from Brazil or Bolivia as far as Mexico. Flower-heads yellow (or white), small or mediocre, often narrow, slender-stalked or sessile, solitary or corymbose; involucre of a single row of bracts; receptacle small, naked; pappus bristly or scaly. Leaves opposite, usually narrow and entire, and furnished with pellucid dots. The species have but little horticultural value, although the under-mentioned is worth cultivating. It requires treatment similar to other half-hardy annuals.
P. angustifolia (narrow-leaved). fl.-heads yellow, fragrant. l. coarsely ciliate, linear. h. 4in. to 6in. North-west America, 1865. A branching, half-hardy annual, with a compact habit and dense inflorescence. (B. M. 6286.)