Emilia sonchifolia

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
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 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]

Biology and ecology

Emilia sonchifolia completes its life cycle in approximately 90 days. There are two types of seed, which are defined by the color of the achene.[12] 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.[13] 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).[12] The seed carries a pappus of hairs, indicating the use of wind as a dispersal agent.[12]

Impact

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.[12]

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%.[12]

The pathogens associated with Emilia 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.[12]

Habitat

Emilia sonchifolia can grow anywhere from sea level to 1000 meters. 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.[12]

Food and medicinal uses

The leaves and young shoots of Emilia sonchifolia can be eaten as a vegetable, raw or cooked. For this the leaves are harvested mainly before the plant flowers.[14]

The young leaves are used as food in Java and Puerto Rico.[12]

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.[15]

Weed management

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 oxidiazon, are added to the soil after sowing, resulting in 8–12 weeks of growth control against Emilia sonchifolia. In soybean fields, a mixture of bentazone, fomensafen and sethoxydim is used to control Emilia sonchifolia growth. In cotton and soybean fields, sethoxydim is the chemical agent used to control Emilia sonchifolia growth. Lastly, atrazine is the chemical agent used to control the growth of Emilia sonchifolia in sugarcane crops.[12]

Toxicity

Emilia sonchifolia contains tumorigenic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, causing hepatotoxicity.[16]

References
  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. 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. "Emilia sonchifolia (red tasselflower)". CABI. CABI. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  13. Marks, M.K, and C Akosim. “Achene dimorphism and germination in three composite weeds.” Invasive Species Compendium, CABI, www.cabi.org/isc/abstract/19840767937.
  14. DC, L. "Emilia sonchifolia". Plants For A Future. Plants For A Future. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  15. Tanaka, Yoshitaka; Van Ke, Nguyen (2007). Edible Wild Plants of Vietnam: The Bountiful Garden. Thailand: Orchid Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-9745240896.
  16. Fu, P.P., Yang, Y.C., Xia, Q., Chou, M.C., Cui, Y.Y., Lin G., "Pyrrolizidine alkaloids-tumorigenic components in Chinese herbal medicines and dietary supplements", Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, Vol. 10, No. 4, 2002, pp. 198-211
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