Code
EMIFO
Growth form
Broadleaf
Biological cycle
annual
Habitat
terrestrial
synonym | Emilia sonchifolia subsp. rosea Bello |
synonym | Emilia sonchifolia var. rosea Bello |
Chinese |
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Creoles and pidgins; French-based |
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English |
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Portuguese |
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Spanish; Castilian |
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Global description
Emilia fosbergii is an annual, upright species, measuring 20 cm to 1 m. In general the stems are pubescent at the base and almost glabrous upwards. The leaves are simple, alternate, of variable shape between the base and the top of the plant, obovate, pseudo-petiolate and open pennatilobed in the lower part of the plant, oval, with an embracing base around the stem and roughly lobed margin toothed in the upper part. Inflorescence terminal at the end of a long floriferous axis with 2 to 4 cylindrical heads of orange-red topurple tubular florets extending beyond the bracts. The fruit is an achene surmounted by a crown of long white silks.
Cotyledons
The cotyledons are spatulate. The lamina is glabrous, progressively lessening on the petiole.
First leaves
The first leaves are simple. The base is attenuated for a long time on the petiole. The limb is oval. The first leaves are green in color and usually have long hairs.
General habit
Emilia fosbergii is an erect annual herbaceous plant, with few branches, up to 1 m tall.
Underground system
The root is a taproot.
Stem
The stem is supple, cylindrical, hollow, often pubescent with long hairs.
Leaf
The leaves are simple and alternate, with toothed margin; they are of three types. The basal or lower are arranged in a rosette, they are 2-4 cm long and 2-3 cm wide, with oboval limb, often pennatilobed, subsessile or short petiolate, and more or less petioliform base or more or less embracing. The stem leaves are 8-13 cm long and 3-5 cm wide, lanceolate-oblong. They are sessile, often auriculate-amplexicaule, roughly toothed and embracing. The highest leaves are reduced to bracts. The upper surface is dotted with long, white, upright, multicellular hairs, while the lower face is glabrous except for the central vein, which is bristling with long white hairs.
Inflorescence
Inflorescence subcorymbiform at the end of the main axis, composed of 2-4 terminal capitula borne by a peduncle 15-36 mm long.
Flower
Cylindrical capitula, 2 to 3 times longer than wide (sometimes narrower at the apex) formed by an involucre of bracts 11-15 mm long and 5-7 mm in diameter (3 mm at the apex), generally pubescent towards the apex. Its 5 to 8 linear bracts, acute, arranged on a single row. The bracts are soldered fresh and separate at maturity. The florets are all tubular ending in 5 lobes, dark orange-red in color to purple and exceeding the involucral bracts at anthesis. The pistil and the stamens are yellow-orange.
Fruit
The fruits are linear achenes, brown, 3 to 6 mm long, strongly ribbed, hispid on the ribs. They carry at the top a pappus of white barbed bristles 5 to 8 (12) mm long, becoming caducous.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Nicaragua : Emilia fosbergii flowers and fruits all year round.
West Indies : Emilia fosbergii flowers and fructifies all over the year, but mostly from October to March. Seed germination occurs quickly after tillage (ploughing, weeding).
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Identification key for Emilia species
Height of plant | basal leaves | nbr capitulum | Length of capitulum | Colour of capitulum | nbr involucre bracts | style | |
E. humifusa | 30-80 cm | sessile | 1 | 2 times longer than wider | orange | 8-12 | Truncate branches |
E. sonchifolia | 8-74 cm | petiolate | 1-10 | 3-4 times longer than wider | pink, salmon like pink, purple |
5-9 | Appendiculate branches |
E. coccinea | 25-31 cm | pseudopetiolate or clasping |
2-3 | 2 times longer than wider | bright red | 13-17 | |
E. fosbergii | 20-60(200) cm | 2-4 | 2-3 times longer than wider | bright red | 5-8 | ||
E. citrina | 30-60 cm | pseudopetiolate | 3-7 | 3-4 times longer than wider | yellow | ||
E. lyrata | 7-10 cm | sessile | 2-3 | yellow | Truncate branches |
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Africa: Absent
China: Species that occurs only in Taiwan, in degraded environments.
French Guiana: Emilia fosbergii is frequent weed in vegetable crops under glasshouses or in open field. It appreciates rich, moist soils. It is very common in the rice fields of the Mana polder, especially along the canals. It is also a common ruderal species. In dry areas it is found near fertigation pipes.
Mauritius: Absent
Nicaragua: Emilia fosbergii is a common species in disturbed environments throughout the country, from 0 to 1200 m altitude.
Reunion: Absent
West Indies: Emilia fosbergii is a native species. It is very common along canals and in ruderal vegetation, along roadsides and abandoned fields or in environments disturbed by humans. Although it has a relatively wide ecological plasticity, it is abundant in short-cycle crops.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Origin
Emilia fosbergii is native to the Caribbean, Central America and tropical South America.
Worldwide distribution
It is widespread in South America and United States, Caribbean, Pacific, tropical Asia (Japan, Taiwan). It is absent in Africa and the Mascarenes.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Local harmfulness
French Guiana: Emilia fosbergii is a fairly common weed (28% of plots) in vegetable crops on poorly maintained land. It is very rarely abundant and has little impact on yields.
West Indies: Emilia fosbergii is not very harmful to sugarcane, banana, fruit and food crops. However, it can become locally abundant and compete directly with vegetable crops (lettuce, various spices). In Guadeloupe it is rare and never abundant in sugar cane, but present in fruit and banana crops. In Martinique it is present in Sugarcane and banana, frequent but never abundant in orchards and vegetables.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Food: The leaves of Emilia fosbergii can be eaten in salads and in dishes with sauce.
Medicinal: Emilia forbergii is also used in traditional medicine although its properties have not been scientifically proven: febrifuge action, acts on asthma and ocular problems, colds, body aches, pharyngitis ...).
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT: https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=Emilia%2520fosbergii
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Root | Root |
Kingdom | Plantae |
Phylum | Tracheophyta |
Class | Magnoliopsida |
Order | Asterales |
Family | Asteraceae |
Genus | Emilia |
Species | Emilia fosbergii Nicolson |