Scalesia affinis Hook. is a species of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 in the Asteraceae

Asteraceae

The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...

 family.
It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands

Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...

, Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

.

It is one of the most widely distributed Scalesia species and occurs on four major islands: Fernandina Island

Fernandina Island

Fernandina Island is the third largest, and youngest, island of the Galápagos Islands. Like the others, the island was formed by the Galápagos hotspot...

, Isabela Island

Isabela Island

Isabela Island may refer to:*Isabela Island *Isabela Island...

 (main distribution area), Santa Cruz Island

Santa Cruz Island

Santa Cruz Island was the largest privately owned island off the continental United States, but is currently part-owned by the National Park service . The island, located off the coast of California, is long and from wide...

 and Floreana Island

Floreana Island

Floreana Island is an island of the Galápagos Islands. It was named after Juan José Flores, the first president of Ecuador, during whose administration the government of Ecuador took possession of the archipelago, having previously been called Charles Island...

.

Populations from Santa Cruz and Floreana display some morphological and genetic divergence from populations of Fernandina Island

Fernandina Island

Fernandina Island is the third largest, and youngest, island of the Galápagos Islands. Like the others, the island was formed by the Galápagos hotspot...

 and Isabela Island

Isabela Island

Isabela Island may refer to:*Isabela Island *Isabela Island...

.