Melampodium is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family.

These are rugged plants native to the tropical to subtropical regions that include Central America, Southwestern United States, California, Florida, the Caribbean, and South America. Most of the species can be found in Mexico, five in the Southwestern United States, and three are scattered in Colombia and Brazil.

Some sources say that the name Melampodium is derived from the Greek words μέλας (melas), meaning "black", and πόδιον (podion), meaning "foot". This refers to the color of the base of the stem and roots. Members of the genus are commonly known as blackfoots. Other authorities, however, maintain that this is in error, that the name comes from Melampus, a soothsayer of renown in Greek mythology.

Species

thumb|right|200px|Plains blackfoot (Melampodium leucanthum) (1913 illustration from Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. Illustrated flora of the northern states and Canada. Vol. 3: 459.

thumb|right|200px|Flowers and buds of Melampodium divaricatum.

; Species

  • Melampodium americanum - Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico (from Tamaulipas to Chiapas)
  • Melampodium appendiculatum - Chihuahua, Sonora, Nayarit, Arizona
  • Melampodium argophyllum - Coahuila, Nuevo León
  • Melampodium aureum - Puebla, Oaxaca
  • Melampodium bibractatum - Durango, State of Mexico, Guatemala
  • Melampodium cinereum - Coahuila, Nuevo León, Texas, Missouri
  • Melampodium costaricense - Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Nicaragua, Colombia
  • Melampodium cupulatum - Sonora, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Baja California Sur
  • Melampodium diffusum - Oaxaca, Philippines (probably introduced)
  • Melampodium divaricatum - Brazil, Bolivia, West Indies, Venezuela, Colombia, Central America, Mexico, United States (FL AL LA AR)
  • Melampodium glabribracteatum - Oaxaca
  • Melampodium glabrum - Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán
  • Melampodium gracile - Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, Mexico (from Tamaulipas to Chiapas)
  • Melampodium leucanthum - Chihuahua, USA (TX NM AZ OK KS CO)
  • Melampodium linearilobum - Mexico, Central America
  • Melampodium longicorne - Sonora, Arizona, New Mexico
  • Melampodium longifolium - Mexico
  • Melampodium longipes - Jalisco
  • Melampodium longipilum - from Guatemala to San Luis Potosí
  • Melampodium mayfieldii - Jalisco
  • Melampodium microcephalum - from Guatemala to Jalisco
  • Melampodium mimulifolium - Oaxaca
  • Melampodium montanum - from Guatemala to Jalisco + San Luis Potosí
  • Melampodium nayaritense - Durango, Nayarit
  • Melampodium northingtonii - Oaxaca
  • Melampodium nutans - Oaxaca, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán
  • Melampodium paniculatum - from Oaxaca to Brazil
  • Melampodium percussum
  • Melampodium perfoliatum - Mexico, Central America, Cuba, California
  • Melampodium pilosum - Guerrero, Michoacan
  • Melampodium pringlei - Oaxaca, Puebla
  • Melampodium repens - Veracruz
  • Melampodium rosei - Sinaloa, Jalisco, Nayarit
  • Melampodium sericeum - Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador
  • Melampodium sinaloense - Sinaloa
  • Melampodium sinuatum - Baja California Sur
  • Melampodium strigosum - Chihuahua, Durango, D.F., Mexico State, Hidalgo, United States (AZ NM TX CO)
  • Melampodium tenellum - Nayarit
  • Melampodium tepicense - Nayarit, Jalisco

Formerly placed here

  • Acanthospermum australe <small>(Loefl.) Kuntze</small> (as M. australe <small>Loefl.</small>)
  • Acanthospermum humile <small>(Sw.) DC.</small> (as M. humile <small>Sw.</small>)
  • Eleutheranthera ruderalis <small>(Sw.) Sch.Bip.</small> (as M. ruderale <small>Sw.</small>)