alisteisia

Alisteisia is a fictional genus of flowering plants created for use in speculative biology, world-building, and educational exercises. It is not recognized by real-world botanical nomenclature, and references to it appear in works of fiction and exercise literature rather than in taxonomic databases.

According to common fictional treatments, alisteisia plants are herbaceous perennials with slender, branching stems and leaves that are pinnate or bipinnate. The inflorescences are composite flower heads with a mix of disk and ray florets, often described in colors ranging from pale lilac to deep cobalt. Fruits are typically dry, multi-seeded achenes with modest dispersal adaptations.

Taxonomic placement varies by author. Some writers assign alisteisia to its own family, Alisteisiaceae, while others place it within a broader concept of Asteraceae. In other narratives, it is treated more as an ecological grouping than a strict taxon, emphasizing convergent traits rather than shared ancestry.

Ecology and distribution are also author dependent. In many treatments, alisteisia is portrayed as native to montane forests and high-elevation plateaus in fictional regions, where it adapts to cool, moist conditions. Pollination is typically described as by bees or hummingbirds, with wind dispersal for the seeds.

Origin of the name is treated as a constructed term used by multiple authors and does not derive from a specific language.