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: Vernonioideae
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

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 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. [9]

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. [10]

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 [11] 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" [12] 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. [13]

Related Research Articles

<i>Lactuca</i> Genus of lettuces

Lactuca, commonly known as lettuce, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The genus includes at least 50 species, distributed worldwide, but mainly in temperate Eurasia.

<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>Verbesina</i> Genus of flowering plants

Verbesina, many species of which have crownbeard as part of their common names, is a genus of flowering plants, in the family Asteraceae. It is a large genus of about 350 species.

<i>Chromolaena odorata</i> Species of flowering plant

Chromolaena odorata is a tropical and subtropical species of flowering shrub in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the Americas, from Florida and Texas in the United States south through Mexico and the Caribbean to South America. It has been introduced to tropical Asia, West Africa, and parts of Australia.

<i>Brachylaena huillensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Brachylaena huillensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found in the montane forests of Angola, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. With a height of up to 131 feet ( it is, with Vernonia arborea candidates for the tallest of all Composites and at up to 60 centimeters also the most massive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vernonieae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

Vernonieae is a tribe of about 1300 species of plants in the aster family. They are mostly found in the tropics and warmer temperate areas, both in the Americas and the Old World. They are mostly herbaceous plants or shrubs, although there is at least one tree species, Vernonia arborea.

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

Vernonia amygdalina, a member of the daisy family, is a small 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.

<i>Stokesia laevis</i>

Stokesia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae, containing the single species Stokesia laevis. Common names include Stokes' aster and stokesia. The species is native to the southeastern United States.

<i>Solidago gigantea</i> Species of plant in the family Asteraceae native to North America

Solidago gigantea is a North American plant species in the family Asteraceae. Its common names include tall goldenrod and giant goldenrod, among others.

<i>Townsendia condensata</i> Species of flowering plant

Townsendia condensata is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names cushion Townsend daisy and cushion townsendia. It is native to North America where it is known from many scattered occurrences in the mountains of the western United States and Alberta in Canada. It is mainly limited to the alpine climates of high mountain peaks, where it grows in meadows, tundra, and barren, rocky talus. It grows alongside other alpine plants such as Eriogonum androsaceum.

Gutierrezia texana is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Texas snakeweed. It is native to the south-central United States and northern Mexico as far south as Guanajuato and Hidalgo.

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

Vernonanthura is a genus of Neotropical plants in the tribe Vernonieae within the family Asteraceae.

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.

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

Vernonia texana, commonly called Texas ironweed, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae). It is native eastern to North America, where it is found primarily in the South Central region of the United States. Its natural habitat is in open sandy woodlands.

Vernonia schweinfurthii is a species of plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Repu, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Zambia. One subspecies is recognized: Vernonia schweinfurthii var. bukamaensis.

Brenandendron frondosum is a plant in the family Asteraceae, native to tropical Africa.

Orbivestus bamendae is a plant in the family Asteraceae.

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. ↑ "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)
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ Schemper "Plant Geography on a Physiological Basis p. 313 and figure 203 with caption
  12. ↑ Menninger, Edwin A. Hon.D.Sc (1970). Flowering Vines of the World. New York: Hearthside Press. p. 141.
  13. ↑ Karsten and Schenk, Vegetationsbilder, (1911) Volume 8 Plate 40 with caption
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