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Tithonia rotundifolia
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Family:
ASTERACEAE/COMPOSITAE
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Citation: Tithonia rotundifolia (Mill.) Blake, Contrib. Gray Herb. (n.s.) 52: 41. 1917; Subram., Fl. Thenmala Div. 194. 1995; H.J. Chowdhery in Hajra et al., Fl. India 12: 416. 1995; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 398. 2009.
Tagetes rotundifolia Mill., Gard. Dict. (ed. 8) 4. 1768.
Tithonia tagetiflora Desf., Ann. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris 1: 46, t. 4. 1802.
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Malayalam Name(s):
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
Mexican Sunflower
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Description:
Herbs upto 4 m tall; stems green to purple, round, glabrous to softly pubescent. Leaves alternate, deltate to triangular or 3-5 lobed, acute to acuminate, base attenuate, crenate or serrate, 9-38 x 4-30 cm, sparsely pubescent or villous on the lower surface; petiole 2-10 cm long. Heads heterogamous, solitary, on short-villous to glabrous, 11-27 cm long peduncles. Involucral bracts many, 2-3 seriate, linear-lanceolate; outer acute, 17-30 x 4-7.5 mm, densely pubescent; inner 16-28 x 5-8 mm, acute or rounded, minutely pubescent. Ray florets many; corolla orange to yellow, oval or oblong, trifid, 9-16 x 7-18 mm. Achenes white-tan, triangular, sterile. Pappus absent or of short scales or awns. Disc florets many; corolla yellow, 5-lobed; tube minutely pubescent. Anthers black, 4-5.5 mm long. Styles 5-10 mm long with papillate stigma. Achenes black, brown or mottled, quadrangular, pubescent, fertile, 5-7 x 1.5-2.5 mm. Pappus of fused squamellae with 2 awns.
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Habit:
Herb
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Flowering & Fruiting:
July-January
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District(s):
All Districts
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
Introduced as ornamental, now runs wild
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Distribution:
Native of Tropical America; widely cultivated
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Orange, Red
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
Yes
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Garden:
Yes
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Thenmalai
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