The BioFiles - Bill Hubick

Lilac Tasselflower (Emilia sonchifolia)
Genus Emilia Family Asteraceae Order Asterales Class Magnoliopsida Phylum Tracheophyta Kingdom Plantae Biodiversity

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Source: Wikipedia

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 a branching, annual herb[4] up to 40 cm (15+1⁄2 in) tall. The 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.[5]

It is widespread in tropical regions around the world. Though hepatotoxic, the leaves and young shoots can be eaten as vegetables.

Description

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Emilia sonchifolia 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.[4]

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.[4]

The plant completes its life cycle in approximately 90 days. There are two types of seed, which are defined by the color of the achene.[4] The first, a female outer circle of florets of a flower head produces red and brown achenes. The second is the inner, off-white hermaphrodite florets.[6] Most seeds germinate at 27 °C but those that develop from outer florets germinate under deep shade. Plants only emerge from seeds near the surface, however, some seed can germinate (4%) while buried deep (4 cm).[4] The seed carries a pappus of hairs, indicating the use of wind as a dispersal agent.[4]

Distribution and habitat

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Emilia sonchifolia 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.[5][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

It can grow anywhere from sea level to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). It exists over a wide range of conditions from the tropics to grasslands, waste areas, roadsides, and partially shaded areas. It is tolerant of acid conditions.[4]

Ecology

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Emilia sonchifolia is commonly reported as a weed crop. In most areas, it is reported as noninvasive, however, in some cotton producing areas, it is classified as the most problematic weeds.[4]

It has certain effects on individual crops, such as decreases in weight of lettuce (by 70%) and mustard cabbage (by 30%), and a decreased yield of tomato fruit by 18%.[4]

The pathogens associated with E. sonchifolia also have effects on certain crops. Emilia sonchifolia is a host of Xanthomonas campestris, which causes a bacterial infection in beans in Brazil and Cuba.[4]

Management

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Emilia sonchifolia is classified as a weed that grows in the fields of many agriculture crops, but it can be controlled via the use of certain chemicals. For example, in rice, a mixture of pretilachlor and dimethametryn, and a mixture of piperophos with propanil or oxadiazon, are added to the soil after sowing, resulting in 8–12 weeks of growth control against E. sonchifolia. In soybean fields, a mixture of bentazone, fomesafen and sethoxydim is used to control E. sonchifolia growth. In cotton and soybean fields, sethoxydim is the chemical agent used to control E. sonchifolia growth. Lastly, atrazine is the chemical agent used to control the growth of E. sonchifolia in sugarcane crops.[4]

Toxicity

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Emilia sonchifolia contains tumorigenic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, causing hepatotoxicity.[14]

Uses

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The leaves and young shoots can be eaten as vegetables, raw or cooked. For this the leaves are harvested mainly before the plant flowers.[15]

The young leaves are used as food in Java and Puerto Rico.[4]

Emilia sonchifolia in Chinese is called ye xia hong (Chinese: 葉下紅) and in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is considered usable as a medicinal herb.

In India it is one of the "Ten Sacred Flowers of Kerala" (which are collectively known as Dasapushpam).

In Vietnam Emilia sonchifolia has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of fever, sore throat, diarrhea, eczema and as an antidote for snake bites.[16]

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References

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  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 c d e f g h i j k l "Emilia sonchifolia (red tasselflower)". CABI. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  5. ^ a b Flora of China, 一点红 yi dian hong, Emilia sonchifolia (Linnaeus) Candolle
  6. ^ Marks, M.K, and C Akosim. “Achene dimorphism and germination in three composite weeds.” Invasive Species Compendium, CABI, www.cabi.org/isc/abstract/19840767937.
  7. ^ "Atlas of Living Australia". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  8. ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ Nelson, C. H. 2008. Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares de Honduras 1–1576. Secretaria de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente, Tegucigalpa
  11. ^ 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
  12. ^ Humbert, H. 1963. Composées. Flore de Madagascar et des Comores 189: 623–911
  13. ^ Jeffrey, C. 1986. Notes on Compositae: IV. The Senecioneae in East Tropical Africa. Kew Bulletin 41(4): 873–943
  14. ^ Fu, P.P.; Yang, Y.-C.; Xia, Q.; Chou, M.W.; Cui, Y.Y.; Lin, G. (2020). "Pyrrolizidine alkaloids – tumorigenic components in Chinese herbal medicines and dietary supplements". Journal of Food and Drug Analysis. 10 (4): 8. doi:10.38212/2224-6614.2743.
  15. ^ DC, L. "Emilia sonchifolia". Plants For A Future. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  16. ^ Tanaka, Yoshitaka; Van Ke, Nguyen (2007). Edible Wild Plants of Vietnam: The Bountiful Garden. Thailand: Orchid Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-9745240896.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
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About

First encountered in Orange County, Florida in December 2023.