Vernonia

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Genus of flowering plants

title: "Vernonia" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["vernonia", "asteraceae-genera"] description: "Genus of flowering plants" topic_path: "general/vernonia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernonia" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of flowering plants ::

|image = Vernonia baldwinii.jpg |image_caption = Vernonia baldwinii |display_parents = 2 |taxon = Vernonia |authority = Schreb. |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = See list of Vernonia species |synonyms_ref = |synonyms = {{Collapsible list|

  • Achyrocoma Cass.
  • Alkibias Raf.
  • Aostea Buscal. & Muschl.
  • Cacalia Burm. ex Kuntze
  • Centrapalus Cass.
  • Seneciodes L. ex T.Post & Kuntze
  • Tecmarsis DC.

Vernonia is a genus of about 350 species of forbs and shrubs in the family Asteraceae. Some species of this genus are known as ironweeds. Some species are edible and of economic value. They are known for having intense purple flowers. There have been numerous distinct subgenera and subsections named in this genus, and some botanists have divided the genus into several distinct genera. For instance, the Flora of North America recognizes only about twenty species in Vernonia sensu stricto, seventeen of which are in North America north of Mexico, with the others being found in South America.

Taxonomy

The genus was circumscribed by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in Gen. Pl. ed. 8[a]. vol.2 on page 541 in 1791.

The genus name of Vernonia is in honour of William Vernon (1666/67 – ), who was an English plant collector, (bryologist) and entomologist from Cambridge University, who collected in Maryland, USA in 1698.

Species

Main article: List of Vernonia species

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Vernonia_altissima.jpg" caption="''[[Vernonia altissima]]''"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Vernonia_capensis.jpg" caption="''[[Vernonia capensis]]''"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Vernonia_galamensis_(25396105376).jpg" caption="''[[Vernonia galamensis]]''"] ::

Species of this genus are found in South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and North America. Vernonia species are well known for hybridizing between similar species in areas of overlapping ranges. There are approximately 350 species in the genus. A selected list is given below.

North America

South America

Africa

Asia

Uses

Food, medicine and oilseed

Several species of Vernonia, including V. calvoana, V. amygdalina, and V. colorata, are eaten as leaf vegetables. Common names for these species include bitterleaf, onugbu in the Igbo language, ewuro and ndole. They are common in most West African and Central African countries. They are one of the most widely consumed leaf vegetables of Nigeria, where the onugbu soup is a local delicacy of the Igbo people, and of Cameroon, where they are a key ingredient of Ndolé: the national dish of Cameroon. The leaves have a sweet and bitter taste. They are sold fresh or dried and are a typical ingredient in egusi soup.

Vernonia amygdalina is used in traditional herbal medicine. These leaves are exported from several African countries and can be purchased in grocery stores aiming to serve African clients. In Brazil, V. condensata is commonly known as "figatil" or "necroton" and used in local traditional medicine.

Vernonia galamensis is used as an oilseed in East Africa. It is grown in many parts of Ethiopia, especially around the city of Harar, with an average seed yield of 2 to 2.5 t/ha. It is reported that the Ethiopian strains of Vernonia have the highest oil content, up to 41.9% with up to 80% vernolic acid, and is used in paint formulations, coatings plasticizers, and as a reagent for many industrial chemicals.

Horticulture

Vernonia are grown as ornamental plants in gardens, particularly some of the larger herbaceous North American species which are favoured for prairie-style plantings. The most widely grown are V. angustifolia, V. arkansana (syn. V. crinita), V. baldwinii, V. fasciculata, V. gigantea (syn. V. altissima), V. lettermannii, V. missurica and V. noveboracensis.

A few cultivars have been selected, mostly on the basis of greater size and robustness (e.g. V. angustifolia 'Plum Peachy', V. gigantea 'Jonesboro Giant') or white flower colour (e.g. V. arkansana 'Alba', V. noveboracensis 'Albiflora', V. noveboracensis 'White Lightning').

Ecology

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Cyanthillium_cinereum_(Ash_Fleabane)_W2_IMG_2850.jpg" caption="''[[Ceratina]]'' bee on ''[[Vernonia cinerea]]'' at [[Ananthagiri Hills]], in [[Ranga Reddy district]] of [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Psyche_(Leptosia_nina)on_an_Ash_Fleabane_or_Little_ironweed(Vernonia_cinerea)_in_Kolkata_W_IMG_3668.jpg" caption="Psyche (''[[Leptosia nina]]'') on an ash fleabane or little ironweed (''[[Vernonia cinerea]]'') in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]."] ::

Vernonia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Coleophora vernoniaeella (which feeds exclusively on the genus) and Schinia regia (which feeds exclusively on V. texana). Vernonia is a very diverse genus, varying from the tiny V. desertorum of the Caatinga region of Brazil which is only 8 cm tall to Vernonia arborea of the East Indies which, at 36 m is the tallest of all composites; a 472 fold difference in height. The liana Vernonia andersoni of Burma, according to Menninger, "climbs into the tops of trees" and could be even taller. The leaves can vary from quite small up to 1.2 m long by up to 38 cm in width in the case of Vernonia conferta of Cameroon.

References

References

  1. Harold Robinson. (1999). "Generic and Subtribal Classification of American Vernonieae". Smithsonian Contributions to Botany.
  2. "Vernonia in Flora of North America @ efloras.org".
  3. Burkhardt, Lotte. (2022). "Eine Enzyklopädie zu eponymischen Pflanzennamen". Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin.
  4. "Vernon, William (c. 1666-1711) on JSTOR".
  5. "Vernonia gigantea in Flora of North America @ efloras.org".
  6. [http://www.theplantencyclopedia.org/wiki/Vernonia_calvoana Veronia calvoana], Plant Encyclopedia
  7. (2013). "Vernonia condensata Baker (Asteraceae): A Promising Source of Antioxidants". Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity.
  8. [http://www.ipms-ethiopia.org/content/files/Documents/PLS-DPD/Alamata.pdf "Alamata Pilot Learning Site Diagnosis and Program Design"] {{webarchive. link. (July 26, 2011 IPMS Information Resources Portal - Ethiopia (23 June 2005), p. 12 (accessed 3 March 2009))
  9. (2024). "RHS Plant Finder 2025". Royal Horticultural Society.
  10. Schemper "Plant Geography on a Physiological Basis p. 313 and figure 203 with caption
  11. Menninger, Edwin A. Hon.D.Sc. (1970). "Flowering Vines of the World". Hearthside Press.
  12. Karsten and Schenk, Vegetationsbilder, (1911) Volume 8 Plate 40 with caption
  13. "''Vernonia'' Schreb.". [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]].

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