Adenostemma lavenia

Family

Asteraceae

Botanical Name

Adenostemma lavenia (L.) Kuntze

Kuntze, C.E.O. (1891) Revisio Generum Plantarum 1: 304. Type: ?.

Synonyms

Verbesina lavenia L., Species Plantarum Edn. 1, 2: 902(1753), Type: Habitat in Zeylona [Sri Lanka].

Common name

Sticky Daisy

Weed

Stem

An erect annual up to 1 m tall, stem subglabrous to hirsute-puberulent, at least above, with loose or spreading, multicellular hairs.

Leaves

Leaves relatively large and soft, glabrous or inconspicuously hairy, largest ones (commonly borne near or above middle of plant) with ovate or elliptic to more often deltoid to subcordate or subhastate lamina 5-15 x 3-15 cm, margins toothed to subentire, petiole often broadly winged; uppermost leaves sometimes alternate.

Flowers

Inflorescence openly branched and nearly naked, with more or less numerous, rather small heads on slender peduncles 1-2 cm long; involucre 3-5 mm high, its bracts herbaceous, not much if at all imbricate, rough-puberulent and often somewhat glandular (as also the peduncles), oblong or oblong-spatulate, broadly rounded distally, tending to be connate toward base; styles white like the hairy or glandular-hairy corolla.

Fruit

Achenes short-clavate, densely stipitate-glandular or glandular-warty, ca. 2.5 mm long; pappus members 0.5-1 mm long, thickened above middle.

Seedlings

Features not available.

Distribution and Ecology

Occurs in all States. Altitudinal range from near sea level to 350 m. Grows in rainforest often along creek lines and in disturbed places, in creek beds in open forest and various types of woodland.