Asteraceae
Emilia

Emilia somalensis (S.Moore) C.Jeffrey

First published in Kew Bull. 41: 912 (1986)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Ethiopia to Kenya.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Short-lived perennial subscapigerous herb 5–30(–60) cm tall; stems glabrous or sparsely floccose in upper parts.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves sessile, subsucculent, spatulate to oblanceolate-spatulate, 2–8.5 cm long, 0.3–2 cm wide, long-attenuate and decurrent onto an entire petioloid base, broadly sinuate-dentate or at least with 3 teeth at the apex, obtuse, glabrous or scattered-pubescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
Capitula terminal, solitary, long-stalked, radiate; involucre cylindrical, 7.5–9.5 mm long, 4.5–5 mm in diameter; phyllaries 12–14, green with reddish tips and orange stripes, 7–9.5 mm long, glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Florets bright yellow to orange-yellow. Ray florets 18–20, tube 4.5–5.5 mm long, hairy at the apex, rays 6–10 mm long, 2–2.7 mm wide, 4-veined; disc florets 6–8 mm long, tube glabrous, lobes 0.7–1 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes 3 mm long, hairy; pappus 5–8 mm long.
Habitat
Short grassland on rocky slopes and mountain summits; 1400–2750 m
Distribution
K1 K3 K6 K7
[FTEA]

Tadesse, M., & Beentje, H. (2004). A Synopsis and New Species of Emilia (Compositae-Senecioneae) in Northeast Tropical Africa. Kew Bulletin, 59(3), 469-482. doi:10.2307/4110954

Type
Kenya, Marsabit, Delamere s.n. (BM, holotype).
Morphology General Habit
Erect, bushy perennial herb, 30 - 40 cm high
Morphology Leaves
Leaves simple, lower ones oblong elliptic with lamina narrowed into a pseudo-petiolate base to narrowly obovate, upper ones sessile, narrowly elliptic, sparsely pubescent especially on veins and margins, 30 - 50 x 5 - 10 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
Capitula solitary or 1 - 3 in open cymes, radiate, hemispheric, 15 - 20 x 6 - 7 mm at anthesis
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Peduncles
Peduncle sparsely pubescent, 2 - 4 cm long, bracteate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Phyllaries
Phyllaries 12 - 14, glabrous, 6 - 7 x 1 - 1.5 mm
Ray
Ray florets c. 13, orange, c. 9 x 3.5 mm, pistillate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc
Disc florets yellow; corolla c. 6.5 mm long, Achenes brown, oblong-elliptic, c. 2.6 x 0.6 mm, pubescent on ribs, grooves glabrous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds Pappus
Pappus 4- 5.2 mm long.
Distribution
Ethiopia and Kenya.
Ecology
Wooded grassland on rocky slopes, with Protea and Faurea, Acacia drepanolobium bushland on black clay soil, Acacia-Commiphora-Olea bushland/woodland on dry sandy soil; alt. 1250 - 1980 m.
Conservation
Least concern (LC).
Note
Despite the name, no material is known from Somalia.
[KBu]

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: low confidence
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • 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 2026. 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 Bulletin

    • Kew Bulletin
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. 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