Inula

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Inula
Inula helenium - Kohler-s Medizinal-Pflanzen-210.jpg
Inula helenium [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Inuleae
Genus: Inula
L.
Synonyms [2]
  • BojeriaDC.
  • CodonocephalumFenzl
  • CorvisartiaMérat
  • CupulariaGodr. & Gren.
  • OrsinaBertol.
  • EritheisGray
  • PetrolliniaChiov.
  • SprunneraSch.Bip.
Inula helenium Inula helenium.jpg
Inula helenium
Inula oculus-christi Inula oculus-christi - JBM.jpg
Inula oculus-christi
Ploughman's-spikenard (Inula conyzae) Inula conyzae - Kohler-s Medizinal-Pflanzen-192.jpg
Ploughman's-spikenard (Inula conyzae)

Inula is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe, Asia and Africa.

Contents

They may be annuals, herbaceous perennials or subshrubs that vary greatly in size, from small species a few centimeters tall to enormous perennials over 3 m (10 ft) tall. They carry yellow daisy-like composite flowerheads often with narrow ray-florets.

Some common characteristics include pappus with bristles, flat capitulum, and lack of chaff.

Several species are popular flowers for the garden, with cultivation going back to antiquity. The smaller species are used in rock gardens and the more common larger ones, which tend to have very coarse foliage, in borders.

Etymology

The genus name Inula is of uncertain origin, and was already in use by the Romans. The Latin phrase inula campana (field inula) gave rise to the English elecampane whose scientific name is Inula helenium . The plant's specific name, helenium, derives from Helen of Troy; elecampane is said to have sprung up from where her tears fell. [3]

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus Inula: [4]

Select species formerly in Inula

Ecology

Inula species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including case-bearers of the genus Coleophora , such as C. conyzae (recorded on I. conyzae), C. follicularis , C. inulae , and C. troglodytella .

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References

  1. 1897 illustration from Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen
  2. "Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist". Archived from the original on 2014-12-09. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  3. Melderis, A. (2007). A Handbook of British Flowering Plants. READ BOOKS. p. 271. ISBN   978-1-4067-6632-5 . Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  4. "Inula L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2022-07-03.