Elephantopus carolinianus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Elephantopus |
Species: | E. carolinianus |
Binomial name | |
Elephantopus carolinianus | |
Synonyms [2] | |
Elephantopus flexuosusRaf. |
Elephantopus carolinianus, with the common names Carolina elephantsfoot [3] or leafy elephant's foot, [4] is a species of flowering plant in the Asteraceae family. It is native to the south-central and southeastern United States.
Elephantopus carolinianus is a perennial herb sometimes as much as 120 cm (4 feet) tall. Leaves are elliptic or ovate to lanceolate, up to 12 cm (5 inches) long, larger toward the base of the plant and decreasing in size moving up the stem. The leaves are darker on the upper side than they are on the lower side and are lightly hairy. They are alternate along the stem, becoming spaced farther apart higher on the stem. At the plant's base, the leaves are very close together, as close as 0.6 centimetres (.25 in) apart. [5]
The plant produces numerous small flower heads in a tight cluster, each head generally containing only 4-5 florets. The cluster of flower heads is supported by 3 bracts that resemble leaves and are 1–3 centimetres (0–1 in) long. [6] The lavender, or sometimes white, flowers bloom August to October. [7] Flowers last for one day. [5]
The genus name Elephantopus comes from the Greek words "elephantos" (elephant) and "pous" (foot). The term likely refers to the large basal leaves of some members of the genus. [8]
The plant is native to the south-central and southeastern United States from Florida north as far as Ohio, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, west to Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. [9] It grows in open or shaded pine forests and mixed forests, with generally damp to wet soil, often sandy. [7]
The plant is the larval host for the Cremastobombycia ignota moth. [10]
Sonchus asper, the prickly sow-thistle, rough milk thistle, spiny sowthistle, sharp-fringed sow thistle, or spiny-leaved sow thistle, is a widespread flowering plant in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae.
Liatris aspera is a perennial wildflower in the Asteraceae family that is found in central to eastern North America in habitats that range from mesic to dry prairie and dry savanna.
Erechtites hieraciifolius is a plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. It is native to the Americas, but is found many places around the world having been introduced by human activity. It is introduced in Hawaii, China, and Southeast Asia.
Balsamorhiza sagittata is a North American species of flowering plant in the tribe Heliantheae of the family Asteraceae known by the common name arrowleaf balsamroot. Also sometimes called Oregon sunflower, it is widespread across western Canada and much of the western United States.
Elephantopus is a genus of perennial plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae).
Triodanis perfoliata, the clasping Venus' looking-glass or clasping bellflower, is an annual flowering plant belonging to the family Campanulaceae. It is an annual herb native to North and South America, the natural range extending from Canada to Argentina. It is also naturalized in China, Korea and Australia.
Persicaria punctata is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by the common names dotted smartweed and dotted knotweed.
Engelmannia peristenia, called Engelmann daisy or cutleaf daisy, is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the south-central United States, primarily from Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and southeastern Colorado, but with more isolated populations in Arizona, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
Leavenworthia uniflora, called Michaux's gladecress or one-flowered gladecress, is a plant species native to the southeastern and Midwestern parts of the United States. It is reported from northwestern Georgia, northern Alabama, Tennessee, northern Arkansas, southern Missouri, Kentucky, southeastern Indiana, southwestern Ohio, and northwestern Virginia. It grows in open, sun-lit locations at elevations less than 500 meters.
Sagittaria cristata, the crested arrowhead, is a perennial herb growing up to 75 centimetres tall. The leaves are flat, long and narrow, not lobed, and up to 40 cm (16 in) long. The flowers are white.
Carex eburnea, known as ivory sedge, ebony sedge, and bristleleaf or bristle-leaved sedge, is a small and slender sedge native to North America, from Alaska and Newfoundland south to central Mexico.
Elephantopus elatus, common name tall elephantsfoot, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the southeastern United States from eastern Louisiana to South Carolina.
Elephantopus nudatus, common name smooth elephantsfoot, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the southeastern United States from eastern Texas to Delaware.
Facelis retusa, the annual trampweed, is a South American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina, Chile; naturalized in parts of Africa, Australia, and North America including the southeastern and south-central United States, and considered as a noxious weed in some of those places.
Hieracium longipilum, the hairy hawkweed, is a North American plant species in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across much of central Canada and the central United States from Ontario south to Texas and Louisiana. There are old reports of the species growing in Québec, but apparently does not grow there now.
Hieracium scabrum, commonly known as rough hawkweed or sticky hawkweed, is a North American plant species in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae. It is native to the eastern and central United States and Canada.
Hymenopappus scabiosaeus, the Carolina woollywhite, is a North American species of flowering plant in the daisy family. It grows in the central and southeastern United States, primarily on the Great Plains an on the Coastal Plain of the Southeast. There are also isolated populations in Illinois and Indiana as well as in the state of Coahuila in northern Mexico.
Xyris baldwiniana, common name Baldwin's yelloweyed grass, is a North American species of flowering plant in the yellow-eyed-grass family. It is native to southern Mexico (Chiapas), Central America, and the southeastern and south-central United States.
Xyris smalliana, Small's yelloweyed grass, is a North American species of flowering plants in the yellow-eyed-grass family. It grows on the coastal plain of the eastern and southern United States from Maine to Texas, as well as in Cuba, Central America, and the State of Tabasco in southern Mexico.
Hypericum suffruticosum, known as pineland St. John's-wort, is a species of flowering plant in the St. John's wort family, Hypericaceae. It is native to the Southeastern United States.