Vernonia

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Vernonia
Vernonia baldwinii.jpg
Vernonia baldwinii
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Cichorioideae
Tribe: Vernonieae
Genus: Vernonia
Schreb.
Species

See list of Vernonia species

Synonyms [1]
List
    • DolosanthusKlatt
    • Eremosis(DC.) Gleason
    • BaccharodesL. ex Kuntze
    • BracheilemaR.Br. ex R.Br.
    • Lessingianthus subg. OligocephalusH.Rob.
    • TriplotaxisHutch.
    • LeiboldiaSchltdl. ex Gleason
    • BehenHill
    • PunduanaSteetz
    • CheliusiaSch.Bip. ex Sch.Bip.
    • AosteaBuscal. & Muschl.
    • ClaotrachelusZoll. & Moritz ex Zoll.
    • CyanopisBlume

Vernonia is a genus of about 350 species of forbs and shrubs in the family Asteraceae. [2] Some species are known as ironweed. Some species are edible and of economic value. They are known for having intense purple flowers. There have been numerous distinct subgenera and subsections named in this genus, and some botanists have divided the genus into several distinct genera. [3] [2] For instance, the Flora of North America recognizes only about twenty species in Vernonia sensu stricto , seventeen of which are in North America north of Mexico, with the others being found in South America. [4]

Contents

Taxonomy

The genus was circumscribed by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in Gen. Pl. ed. 8[a]. vol.2 on page 541 in 1791. [2]

The genus name of Vernonia is in honour of William Vernon (1666/67 - ca.1711), who was an English plant collector, (bryologist) and entomologist from Cambridge University, who collected in Maryland, USA in 1698. [5] [6]

Species

Vernonia altissima Vernonia altissima.jpg
Vernonia altissima
Vernonia capensis Vernonia capensis.jpg
Vernonia capensis
Vernonia galamensis Vernonia galamensis (25396105376).jpg
Vernonia galamensis

Species of this genus are found in South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and North America. Vernonia species are well known for hybridizing between similar species in areas of overlapping ranges. There are approximately 350 species in the genus. [2] A selected list is given below.

North America

South America

Africa

Asia

Uses

Food, medicine and oilseed

Several species of Vernonia, including V. calvoana , V. amygdalina , and V. colorata , are eaten as leaf vegetables. Common names for these species include bitterleaf, onugbu in the Igbo language, ewuro and ndole. They are common in most West African and Central African countries. They are one of the most widely consumed leaf vegetables of Nigeria, where the onugbu soup is a local delicacy of the Igbo people, and of Cameroon, where they are a key ingredient of Ndolé: the national dish of Cameroon. [8] The leaves have a sweet and bitter taste. They are sold fresh or dried and are a typical ingredient in egusi soup.

Vernonia amygdalina is used in traditional herbal medicine. These leaves are exported from several African countries and can be purchased in grocery stores aiming to serve African clients. In Brazil, V. condensata is commonly known as "figatil" or "necroton" and used in local traditional medicine. [9]

Vernonia galamensis is used as an oilseed in East Africa. It is grown in many parts of Ethiopia, especially around the city of Harar, with an average seed yield of 2 to 2.5 t/ha. It is reported that the Ethiopian strains of Vernonia have the highest oil content, up to 41.9% with up to 80% vernolic acid, and is used in paint formulations, coatings plasticizers, and as a reagent for many industrial chemicals. [10]

Horticulture

Vernonia are grown as ornamental plants in gardens, particularly some of the larger herbaceous North American species which are favoured for prairie-style plantings. The most widely grown are V. angustifolia, V. arkansana (syn. V. crinita), V. baldwinii, V. fasciculata, V. gigantea (syn. V. altissima), V. lettermannii, V. missurica and V. noveboracensis. [11]

A few cultivars have been selected, mostly on the basis of greater size and robustness (e.g. V. angustifolia 'Plum Peachy', V. gigantea 'Jonesboro Giant') or white flower colour (e.g. V. arkansana 'Alba', V. noveboracensis 'Albiflora', V. noveboracensis 'White Lightning').

Ecology

Ceratina bee on Vernonia cinerea at Ananthagiri Hills, in Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh, India Cyanthillium cinereum (Ash Fleabane) W2 IMG 2850.jpg
Ceratina bee on Vernonia cinerea at Ananthagiri Hills, in Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh, India
Psyche (Leptosia nina) on an ash fleabane or little ironweed (Vernonia cinerea) in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Psyche (Leptosia nina) on an Ash Fleabane or Little ironweed (Vernonia cinerea) in Kolkata W IMG 3668.jpg
Psyche ( Leptosia nina ) on an ash fleabane or little ironweed ( Vernonia cinerea ) in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

Vernonia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Coleophora vernoniaeella (which feeds exclusively on the genus) and Schinia regia (which feeds exclusively on V. texana ). Vernonia is a very diverse genus, varying from the tiny V. desertorum of the Caatinga region of Brazil which is only three inches (8 centimeters) tall [12] to Vernonia arborea of the East Indies which, at 117 feet (36 meters) is the tallest of all composites; a 472 fold difference in height. The liana Vernonia andersoni of Burma, according to Menninger, "climbs into the tops of trees" [13] and could be even taller. The leaves can vary from quite small up to four feet (1.2 meters) long by up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) in width in the case of Vernonia conferta of Cameroon. [14]

Related Research Articles

<i>Alternanthera</i> Genus of flowering plants

Alternanthera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae. It is a widespread genus with most species occurring in the tropical Americas, and others in Asia, Africa, and Australia. Plants of the genus may be known generally as joyweeds, or Joseph's coat. Several species are notorious noxious weeds.

<i>Vernonia galamensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Vernonia galamensis is a plant in the sunflower family, known for its use as an oilseed. This species, often called ironweed, is the largest source of vernonia oil, which is rich in a useful epoxy fatty acid called vernolic acid and is used to make plastics, rubbery coatings, and drying agents. Use of this oil as a replacement for traditional plasticizers and binders in the production of paints and PVC shows promise as a method of reducing smog pollution.

<i>Tragia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae

Tragia is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is widespread across North and South America, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Subcontinent, northern Australia, and to various islands in the Caribbean and in the Indian Ocean.

Grossera is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1903. It is native to Madagascar and to mainland tropical Africa. It is dioecious.

  1. Grossera angustifoliaBarbera&Riina - Equatorial Guinea
  2. Grossera elongataHutch. - Príncipe
  3. Grossera glomeratospicataJ.Léonard - East Congo
  4. Grossera macranthaPax - East Congo, West Congo, Cameroon, Central African Rep.
  5. Grossera majorPax - Cameroon
  6. Grossera multinervisJ.Léonard - East Congo, São Tomé
  7. Grossera paniculataPax - West Congo, Cameroon, Gabon
  8. Grossera perrieriLeandri - Madagascar
  9. Grossera vigneiHoyle - Ivory Coast, Ghana, West Congo
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic</span> Forest and savanna ecoregion of Central Africa

The Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic is a forest and savanna ecoregion of central Africa. It extends east and west across central Africa, covering parts of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda. It is part of the belt of transitional forest-savanna mosaic that lie between Africa's moist equatorial Guineo-Congolian forests and the tropical dry forests, savannas, and grasslands to the north and south.

<i>Psiadia</i> Genus of plants

Psiadia, commonly known as daisy trees, is a genus of mostly woody Asian and African plants in the tribe Astereae within the family Asteraceae. The genus is distributed throughout the Western Indian Ocean, with species reported from continental Eastern Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, La Reunion, Rodrigues, the Comoro islands, as well as several of the smaller, uninhabited islands in the Mozambique Channel. Additional species are suspected on Socotra and Sri Lanka, but these have not been confirmed. Phylogenetic studies using DNA sequence data and biogeographic reconstruction using molecular dating have shown that the genus originated on the African mainland, and colonized Madagascar and the outlying islands in the Indian Ocean in several independent instances of overwater dispersal in the Miocene.

<i>Vernonia noveboracensis</i> Species of plant

Vernonia noveboracensis, the New York ironweed or vein-leaf hawkweed, is a plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the eastern United States, from Florida to Massachusetts and west to Tennessee, Alabama, and West Virginia and to southern Ontario.

<i>Vernonia amygdalina</i> Species of shrub

Vernonia amygdalina, a member of the daisy family, is a small to medium-sized shrub that grows in tropical Africa. V. amygdalina typically grows to a height of 2–5 m (6.6–16.4 ft). The leaves are elliptical and up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long. Its bark is rough.

<i>Distichlis</i> Genus of grasses

Distichlis is a genus of American and Australian plants in the grass family. Plants in this genus are dioecious, have rhizomes or stolons, and have conspicuously distichous leaves.

Anigre is an African hardwood commonly used for plywood, interior furniture, cabinetry, and high-end millwork applications. It is frequently sliced and sold as veneer, although it is available in board form as well. In board form it is used for boat building, general carpentry, and other light construction uses.

<i>Periploca</i> (plant) Genus of vines

Periploca is a genus of plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described for modern science by Linnaeus in 1753. It is native to Europe, Asia, and Africa.

  1. Periploca angustifoliaLabill. - North Africa, South Europe
  2. Periploca aphyllaDecne. - Middle East from Sinai to Pakistan
  3. Periploca calophylla(Wight) Falc. - S China, Nepal, Bhutan, Assam, E Himalayas, Vietnam
  4. Periploca chevalieriBrowicz - Cape Verde Islands
  5. Periploca chrysanthaD.S. Yao, X.D. Chen & J.W. Ren - Gansu Province in China
  6. Periploca floribundaTsiang - Yunnan, Vietnam
  7. Periploca forrestiiSchltr. - Guangxi, Guizhou, Qinghai, Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan, India, Kashmir, Myanmar, Nepal
  8. Periploca gracilisBoiss. - Cyprus, Turkey
  9. Periploca graecaL. - Mediterranean
  10. Periploca hydaspidisFalc. - Kashmir
  11. Periploca laevigataAiton - Canary Islands, Savage Islands
  12. Periploca linearifoliaQuart.-Dill. & A. Rich - Ethiopia
  13. Periploca purpureaKerr - Thailand
  14. Periploca sepiumBunge - widespread across much of China
  15. Periploca somaliensis Browicz - Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia
  16. Periploca tsiangiiD. Fang & H.Z. Ling - Guangxi Province in China
  17. Periploca visciformis(Vatke) K. Schum. - Somalia
<i>Hellinsia paleaceus</i> Species of plume moth

Hellinsia paleaceus is a moth of the family Pterophoridae described by Philipp Christoph Zeller in 1873. It is found in North America, including Florida, Mississippi Maryland, Montana, Texas, California, Nebraska, New Mexico and south-eastern Canada. It has also been recorded from Puerto Rico.

<i>Cola</i> (plant) Genus of plants

Cola is a genus of trees native to the tropical forests of Africa, classified in the family Malvaceae, subfamily Sterculioideae. Species in this genus are sometimes referred to as kola tree or kola nut for the caffeine-containing fruit produced by the trees that is often used as a flavoring ingredient in beverages. The genus was thought to be closely related to the South American genus Theobroma, or cocoa, but the latter is now placed in a different subfamily. They are evergreen trees, growing up to 20 m tall, with glossy ovoid leaves up to 30 cm long and star-shaped fruit.

<i>Strobocalyx</i> Genus of plants

Strobocalyx is a genus of Asian, African, Pacific Island, and South American plants in the tribe Vernonieae within the family Asteraceae. It is sometimes regarded as part of the genus Vernonia.

<i>Sphaerocoris annulus</i> Species of true bug

Sphaerocoris annulus, common names Picasso bug or Zulu hud bug, is a species of shield-backed bugs of the family Scutelleridae.

Tall ironweed is a common name for several plants and may refer to:

References

  1. ↑ Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Vernonia Schreb". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanical Gardens Kew. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  3. ↑ Harold Robinson (1999). "Generic and Subtribal Classification of American Vernonieae" (PDF). Smithsonian Contributions to Botany. 89. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  4. ↑ Flora of North America: Vernonia
  5. ↑ Burkhardt, Lotte (2022). Eine Enzyklopädie zu eponymischen Pflanzennamen[Encyclopedia of eponymic plant names] (in German). Berlin: Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin. doi:10.3372/epolist2022. ISBN   978-3-946292-41-8. S2CID   246307410.
  6. ↑ "Vernon, William (c. 1666-1711) on JSTOR". plants.jstor.org. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  7. ↑ Flora of North America: Vernonia gigantea
  8. ↑ Veronia calvoana, Plant Encyclopedia
  9. ↑ Jucélia Barbosa da Silva; Vanessa dos Santos Temponi; Carolina Miranda Gasparetto; et al. (2013). "Vernonia condensata Baker (Asteraceae): A Promising Source of Antioxidants". Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. Article ID 698018: 1–9. doi: 10.1155/2013/698018 . PMC   3893806 . PMID   24489987.
  10. ↑ "Alamata Pilot Learning Site Diagnosis and Program Design" Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine IPMS Information Resources Portal - Ethiopia (23 June 2005), p. 12 (accessed 3 March 2009)
  11. ↑ Cubey, J., ed. (2024). RHS Plant Finder 2025. United Kingdom: Royal Horticultural Society.
  12. ↑ Schemper "Plant Geography on a Physiological Basis p. 313 and figure 203 with caption
  13. ↑ Menninger, Edwin A. Hon.D.Sc (1970). Flowering Vines of the World. New York: Hearthside Press. p. 141.
  14. ↑ Karsten and Schenk, Vegetationsbilder, (1911) Volume 8 Plate 40 with caption
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