Vernonia cinerea

Vernonia cinerea (Linn.) Less., Linnea 4: 291, 1829; Graham, Cat. Bombay Pl. 96, 1839; Dalz. & gibs., Bombay Fl. 121, 1861; Clarke, Comp. Ind. 20, 1876; Woodrow in JBNHS 11: 647, 1897; Cooke, Fl. Pres. Bombay 2: 10, 1904; Subramanian & Rao, BOBSI 3: 398, 1961; Malhotra & Rao, BOBSI 22: 7, 1980; Malhotra & Moorthy, BOBSI 13: 305, 1971; Kamble & Pradhan, Fl. Akola 124, 1988; Almeida, Fl. Savantwadi 234, 1990; Balapure, JBNHS 62 (3): 458, 1964; Kulkarni, Fl. Sindhudurg Dist. 230, 1988; Naik, Fl. Marathwada 503, 1998; Birdwood, JBNHS : 16, 1897; Bole & Almeida, JBNHS 97: 604, 1983; Kartikeyan & Anandkumar, Fl. Yavatmal Dist. 143, 1993; Ugemuge, Fl. Nagpur Dist. 216, 1986; Voight, Hort. Suburb. Cal. 405, 1845.

Vernacular name : Sahadevi, Mothi Sadori.

FAMILY: ASTERACEAE

Morphological characters :

Habit: A small annual erect herb.

Stem: Stem stiff, cylindric with striations, slightly pubescent, slightly branched.

Leaves: Leaves simple, lax, alternate, exstipulate, petiolate, variable in shapes; broadly elliptic or lanceolate, acute, shortly mucronate, irregularly dentate, hairy, base decurrent into petiole; unicostate reticulate venation.

Inflorescence: In lax divaricate terminal corymbs, homogamous, discoid, capitula 10-15 Flowered.

Flower: Flower bracteate, pedicellate, actinomorphic, hermaphrodite, epigynous; bract small, linear below each head and small bracts linear-lanceolate, awned, imbricate; flowers pinkish-violet coloured.

Calyx: Pappus hairy, white, 2-seriate, exterior row short.

Corolla: Corolla lobes equal, lobes 5, regular, gamopetalous, slender, narrow, corolla various shades of purple, blue.

Androecium: Stamens 5, epipetalous, syngenesious, anthers oblong, dithecous, basifixed, introrse.

Gynoecium: Bicarpellary, syncarpous, inferior ovary, unilocular, one ovule in the locule, basal placentation, stigma bifid, hairy, less than 2mm long.

Fruit: Achenes long, oblong, not ribbed, narrow at base, hairy.

Flowering period: Throughout the year.

Economic uses: Flowers are used to cure fevers by trying them to hair for quartan fever.