Emilia sonchifolia

Emilia sonchifolia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Emilia
Species:
E. sonchifolia
Binomial name
Emilia sonchifolia
(L.) DC. ex Wight
Synonyms[1][2]
List
  • Cacalia sonchifolia Hort ex L.
  • Crassocephalum sonchifolium (L.) Less.
  • Emilia marivelensis Elmer
  • Emilia purpurea Cass.
  • Emilia rigidula DC.
  • Emilia sinica Miq.
  • Gynura ecalyculata DC.
  • Prenanthes javanica (Burm.f.) Willd.
  • Senecio auriculatus Burm.f.
  • Senecio rapae F.Br.
  • Senecio sonchifolius (L.) Moench
  • Sonchus javanicus (Burm.f.) Spreng.

Emilia sonchifolia, also known as lilac tasselflower or cupid's shaving brush, is a tropical flowering species of tasselflower in the sunflower family.[3] It is widespread in tropical regions around the world, apparently native to Asia (China, India, Southeast Asia, etc.) and naturalized in Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

Emilia sonchifolia is a branching, annual herb[12] up to 40 cm (15.5 in) tall. Leaves are lyrate-pinnatilobed, up to 10 cm (4 in) long, sometimes becoming purplish as they get old. One plant can produce several pink or purplish flower heads.[4]

The plant is erect and sparingly hairy, soft-stemmed, and grows to 20 to 70 cm high with a branch tap root. The leaf pattern is alternate with winged petioles. Leaves on the lower end of the stem are round/oval shape, 4 to 16 cm in height, and 1 to 8 cm in width. The leaves on the upper end of the stem are smaller than the leaves on the lower end of the stem and are often coarsely toothed.[12]

The inflorescence is often dichotomous, with 3 to 6 stalked flower heads and whorled bracts below. The urn-shaped flower head has 30-60 florets per head, the outer ray florets are female, and the inner disc florets are bisexual. The flower is any of a range of colors: purple, scarlet, red, pink, orange, white, or lilac. The fruit produced is oval shaped, reddish brown or off-white, has white hairs up to 8 mm long, and exhibits dry indehiscent properties.[12]

  1. ^ "Emilia sonchifolia record n° 95932". African Plants Database. South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and Tela Botanica. Archived from the original on 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  2. ^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species".
  3. ^ Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). "PLANTS Profile, Emilia sonchifolia". The PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  4. ^ a b Flora of China, 一点红 yi dian hong, Emilia sonchifolia (Linnaeus) Candolle
  5. ^ "Atlas of Living Australia". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  6. ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  7. ^ Nicolson, D. H. 1980. Summary of cytological information on Emilia and the taxonomy of four Pacific taxa of Emilia (Asteraceae: Senecioneae). Systematic Botany 5(4): 391–407
  8. ^ Nelson, C. H. 2008. Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares de Honduras 1–1576. Secretaria de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente, Tegucigalpa
  9. ^ Berendsohn, W.G. & A.E. Araniva de González. 1989. Listado básico de la Flora Salvadorensis: Dicotyledonae, Sympetalae (pro parte): Labiatae, Bignoniaceae, Acanthaceae, Pedaliaceae, Martyniaceae, Gesneriaceae, Compositae. Cuscatlania 1(3): 290–1–290–13
  10. ^ Humbert, H. 1963. Composées. Flore de Madagascar et des Comores 189: 623–911
  11. ^ Jeffrey, C. 1986. Notes on Compositae: IV. The Senecioneae in East Tropical Africa. Kew Bulletin 41(4): 873–943
  12. ^ a b c "Emilia sonchifolia (red tasselflower)". CABI. Retrieved 24 October 2017.