Wedelia chinensis (Osbeck) Merr.
Family
Compositae
Synonyms
Wedelia calendulacea Less.
Vernacular Names
|
Philippines |
Hagonoi-tsina (Tagalog). |
|
Thailand |
Ka meng tua phuu (Central), horn kieo kham (Northern). |
|
Vietnam |
S[af]i d[aas]t, ng[oor] n[us]i, hoa m[us]c. |
Geographical Distributions
Wedelia chinensis is distributed from India and Indo-China to Japan, and southwards to Malaysia and the Philippines, where it was introduced.
Description
Wedelia chinensis is a slender, spreading herb, 50-80 cm tall that roots at the lower nodes.
The leaves are oblong to oblong-Iance-shaped, measure 2-5 cm x 1-2 cm, wedge-shaped at base, acute at apex, with entire or obscurely serrulate margins where both surfaces are with appressed stiff hairs while the petiole is almost absent.
The inflorescence is a solitary head, with peduncle 6-12 cm long. The heads are about 1 cm in diametre, with 5 involucral bracts, oblong, 8 mm long and soft hairy. The ligulate flowers are 9-11 mm long, approximately equal to the bracts, spreading while the tubular flowers are 4 mm long.
The fruit is obovoid, and 3.5 mm long with the upper half coarsely hairy. Its pappus is cup-shaped.
Ecology / Cultivation
W. chinensis is found on open waste places at sea level.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No.12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants 2.
