8751.000 Vernonia Schreb.

CYANTHILLIUM Blume

GYMNANTHEMUM Cass.

HILLIARDIELLA H. Rob.

LINZIA Sch. Bip. ex Walp.

ORBIVESTUS H. Rob.

POLYDORA Fenzl

VERNONIASTRUM H. Rob.

Herman, P.P.J. & Swelankomo, N. (2011) Vernonia (Tribe Vernonieae) and related genera in Southern Africa: updates and corrections Bothalia 41(1) 176-178

Wild, H. (1978) The Compositae of the Flora Zambesiaca area. 8. Vernonieae (Vernonia). Kirkia 11(1) 31-127

Description of the genus

Annual or perennial herbs (often with annual stems from woody rootstocks), small to large shrubs, woody scramblers or small trees. Leaves alternate, simple. Capitula homogamous, discoid; florets normally bisexual and fertile. Phyllaries free in 2-many series, imbricate. Corolla various shades of purple, blue, or creamy-white, regularly 5-lobed. Pappus 2-seriate with an outer short whorl of scales or setae and an inner whorl of longer setae.

Derivation of name: Named after William Vernon, English botanist of the late 17th century.

Comment: Studies, since the 1970s, based on chromosome counts, chemistry, pollen and DNA, have shown that the genus Vernonia is paraphyletic with two centres of origin, one in S America and one in Africa and SE Asia (Herman & Swelankomo, 2011).

Based on these studies, a number of segregate genera have been proposed for African species of Vernonia. To date, this process is not complete and for the time being we have retained the use of the genus Vernonia, but have added the new genus and species names as synonyms in cases where these are known to us.

Worldwide: c. 1,000 species in warm and tropical regions of the Old World and America

Zimbabwe: 55 taxa.

Insects associated with this genus:
Basiotha schenckii (Brown-striped hawk) Larval foodplant
Vernonia wollastonii

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
accommodata Wild[End][LR-lc]N,C,E,S
acuminatissima S. MooreC,E,S
adoensis Sch. Bip. ex Walp. var. adoensis N,CImage
adoensis Sch. Bip. ex Walp. var. kotschyana (Sch. Bip. ex Walp.) G.V. PopeW,C,E,SDescription, Image
adoensis Sch. Bip. ex Walp. var. mossambiquensis (Steetz) G.V. PopeE
adoensis Sch. Bip. ex Walp.[Agg]N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
amoena S. MooreN,W,C,S
amygdalina DelileN,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
anthelmintica (L.) Willd.N,W,C,SDescription, Image
bainesii Oliv. & Hiern subsp. bainesii W,C,E,SDescription, Image
bainesii Oliv. & Hiern subsp. wildii (Merxm.) Wild[End][LR-lc]N,C,EDescription, Image
bellinghamii S. MooreN,CDescription, Image
calvoana (Hook.f.) Hook.f. subsp. meridionalis (Wild) C. Jeffrey[NrEnd]EDescription, Image
cinerascens Sch. Bip.SDescription, Image
cinerea (L.) Less. var. cinerea SDescription, Image
colorata (Willd.) Drake subsp. colorata N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
exsertiflora Baker var. exsertiflora N,C
eylesii S. Moore[End][LR-lc]C,E,S
fastigiata Oliv. & HiernW,C,E,S
filipendula HiernN,CDescription, Image
galamensis (Cass.) Less. subsp. galamensis var. australis M.G. GilbertE
galpinii KlattE,SDescription, Image
gerberiformis Oliv. & Hiern subsp. gerberiformis var. gerberiformis C,EImage
glaberrima Welw. ex O.Hoffm.C,EDescription, Image
glabra (Steetz) Vatke var. glabra N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
glabra (Steetz) Vatke var. laxa (Steetz) BrenanN,C,SDescription, Image
graniticola G.V. Pope[End][VU]C
hirsuta (DC.) Sch. Bip. ex Walp.E
holstii O. Hoffm.C,EDescription, Image
jelfiae S. Moore var. albida G.V. PopeNDescription, Image
karaguensis Oliv. & HiernN,C,E,SDescription, Image
kirkii Oliv. & HiernCDescription, Image
lundiensis (Hutch.) Wild & G.V. PopeN,E,S
meiostephana C. JeffreyN,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
melleri Oliv. & Hiern var. melleri N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
muelleri Wild subsp. muelleri [NrEnd][LR-nt]EDescription, Image
musofensis S. Moore var. miamensis (S. Moore) G.V. PopeN,C,E
myriantha Hook. f.N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
natalensis Sch. Bip. ex Walp.N,C,E,SDescription, Image
nepetifolia Wild[NrEnd][LR-nt]EDescription
nestor S. MooreN,C,EDescription, Image
oligocephala (DC.) Sch. Bip. ex Walp.N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
petersii Oliv. & Hiern ex Oliv.N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
poskeana Vatke & Hildebrandt subsp. botswanica G.V. PopeW,C
poskeana Vatke & Hildebr. subsp. poskeana N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
pteropoda Oliv. & HiernE
rhodanthoidea Muschl.N,EDescription, Image
rhodesiana S.Moore[End][DD]N,C
rosenii R.E. Fr.N,CDescription, Image
schlechteri O. Hoffm.E
steetziana Oliv. & HiernN,W,E,S
suprafastigiata KlattN,W,CDescription, Image
sylvicola PopeNDescription, Image
thomsoniana Oliv. & Hiern ex Oliv.C,E
wollastonii S.MooreE,SDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Vernonia:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Vernonia
Flora of Caprivi: Vernonia
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Vernonia
Flora of Malawi: Vernonia
Flora of Mozambique: Vernonia
Flora of Zambia: Vernonia

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Vernonia
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Vernonia
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Vernonia
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Vernonia
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Vernonia
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Vernonia
JSTOR Plant Science: Vernonia
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Vernonia
Plants of the World Online: Vernonia
Tropicos: Vernonia
Wikipedia: Vernonia

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2002-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Zimbabwe: Genus page: Vernonia.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=1464, retrieved 3 May 2024

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