Elephantopus scaber L.

First published in Sp. Pl.: 814 (1753)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropical & Subtropical Old World. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the subtropical biome.

Descriptions

Compositae, H. Beentje, C. Jeffrey & D.J.N. Hind. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2005

Morphology General Habit
Perennial herb, subscapose, with long fibrous roots, woody rootstock and rosette of leaves; stems 1–several, arising from the basal rosette, pilose with patent or ascending hairs, 0.2–1.5 m tall.
Morphology Leaves
Basal leaves oblanceolate or elliptic, 6–60 cm long, 1.5–10 cm wide, attenuate into a petioloid base, this often reddish, the very base shortly clasping the stem, minutely denticulate or crenulate-serrulate, apex acute to obtuse; stem leaves few, sessile, lanceolate to panduriform, clasping the stem, 3–17 cm long, 0.7–5 cm wide, grading into the conduplicate inflorescence bracts; all leaves thinly to densely pilose above and beneath, often feeling scabridulous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
Capitula crowded in glomerules 1–3 cm in diameter; glomerules in terminal lax corymbiform bracteate cymes; stalks of glomerules 3–11 cm long; outer bracts of glomerules 3–5, pale green with white hairs, ovate-lanceolate to broadly ovate, 0.6–2.6 cm long, acuminate; phyllaries lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, acuminate, 6.3–10 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Corolla subligulate with deep adaxial sinus and 4 shorter abaxial sinuses between the lobes, mauve, pale mauve to white, 3.8–7 mm long, lobes 1.3–2.5 mm long, glandular.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes fusiform, 10-ribbed, 2.8–4 mm long, shortly ascending-pubescent; pappus scales lanceolate, (5–)7–10, attenuate, 1.2–4.8(–6) mm long.
Figures
Fig. 55.
[FTEA]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Compositae, G. V. Pope. Flora Zambesiaca 6:1. 1992

Morphology General Habit
An erect tough hirsute perennial herb to c. 130 cm. tall, with scapiform annual stems from a woody rootstock; roots numerous, thong-like.
Morphology Stem
Stems 1-several, branching above, leafy below, densely hirsute, or ± strigose on upper stem and branches.
Morphology Leaves
Basal leaves mostly 7–62 x 1.5–10 cm., narrowly oblanceolate or ovate-elliptic, subacute or rounded at the apex, narrowly cuneate to long-attenuate below with the midrib becoming very narrowly winged or petiole-like, the base ± stem-clasping or shortly stem-sheathing, margins entire or sometimes serrulate-crenulate, lamina somewhat scabridulous to glabrescent with scattered patent 1–2 mm. long bristle-like hairs; cauline leaves 1–5, smaller than the basal leaves, sessile and ± stem-clasping, grading into ± conduplicate synflorescence bracts.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
Capitula sessile, crowded in glomerules 1.2–3 cm. in diam.; glomerules terminal on few-many stiff synflorescence branches 3–11 cm. long, or sometimes several glomerules ± scorpioidly arranged along a branch, glomerule-subtending bracts 3–5, ovate, leaf-like, ± equalling the glomerules in length.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Florets c. 4 per capitulum.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Involucre
Involucres 7–10 x 2–3 mm., narrowly ovoid-cylindric.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Phyllaries
Phyllaries usually 2-seriate with c. 4 phyllaries in each series, oblong-lanceolate, cartilaginous with pungent apices and membranous margins, strigose or ± densely hispid where exposed, or glabrous; the inner phyllaries 7–9 mm. long, nearly twice as long as the outer.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corollas mauve, 4.5–7 mm. long, narrowly funnel-shaped, 5-lobed but more deeply cleft down one side, glandular at the lobe apices otherwise glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes 3–4 mm. long, narrowly turbinate-cylindric, c. 10-ribbed, setulose mainly on the ribs; pappus of 7–10 elements 3.5–6 mm. long, overlapping scale-like below and gradually tapering into a subterete barbellate seta.
[FZ]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images