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Species
Eclipta prostrata (L.) L., 1771
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Other common names are "False Daisy" and "Tattoo Plant." The latter name refers to the fact that the juice of Yerba de Tajo can be used to make blue tattoos. This plant is used in Chinese medicine and has been found to function as an antidote to the venom of Rattlesnakes. Apparently, when an aqueous solution of the plant juice is injected into the affected muscle tissue, this reduces the hemorrhaging caused by the venom. Yerba de Tajo resembles one of the white-flowered Aster spp. (Asters), but its flowerheads have much shorter ray florets and there is no tuft of hairs attached to each achene. The flowerheads of Galinsoga spp. (Peruvian Daisies) have short ray florets, but they are widely spaced and much fewer in number than the ray florets of Yerba de Tajo.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright © 2002-2014 by Dr. John Hilty |
Source | http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/yerba_tajo.htm |
Chile Central
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Pablo Gutierrez, IABIN |
Source | No source database. |
Depth range based on 8 specimens in 1 taxon.
Environmental ranges
Depth range (m): 1 - 1
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.
License | http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Ocean Biogeographic Information System |
Source | http://www.iobis.org/mapper/?taxon_id=784318 |
Population
There is no information available on population trends for this species. However, it is presumed to be stable.
Population Trend
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/164051 |
This native plant is an annual in Illinois, while in areas with warmer climates it may be a short-lived perennial. It is about 1-2' long and has a tendency to sprawl along the ground in the absence of supportive vegetation. The reddish purple stems branch occasionally. They are round and have scattered white hairs that are appressed upward. The leaves are up to 5" long and 1" across. They are usually opposite, although some of the upper leaves may be alternate. The leaves are sessile against the stems, or they have short pedicels. Each leaf is more or less lanceolate, with scattered hairs that are appressed against the upper surface and a few blunt teeth along the margins. From the axils of the leaves, there are 1-3 flowerheads on short pedicels. Each flat-topped flowerhead is about 1/3" across, consisting of about 8-16 bracts and numerous ray florets that surround the numerous disk florets. The spreading green bracts are triangular-shaped and form the base of the flowerhead. The ray florets are white and quite narrow and short, while the disk florets are cream or dull white with 4 small spreading lobes. Pale yellow or light brown anthers protrude slightly from the disk florets. The blooming period occurs from mid-summer until the fall, and lasts about 2-3 months. The flowerheads are not noticeably fragrant. As the achenes develop in a flowerhead after the petals fall off, they are initially green and cause the flowerhead to swell in size to about ½" across. Each achene is oblong, truncate at the top, and tapering to well-rounded tip at the bottom. Sometimes an achene may have 2 or 4 small teeth at the top. This plant can spread by forming rootlets at the nodes of the leaves in muddy ground. It also reseeds itself, and can form colonies at favorable sites.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright © 2002-2014 by Dr. John Hilty |
Source | http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/yerba_tajo.htm |
A pantropic weed.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=110&taxon_id=200023875 |
Very little information appears to be available about floral-faunal relations for this plant. The flowerheads probably attract many of the same kinds of insects as Asters, including small bees, flies, wasps, small butterflies, and skippers, although such visitors appear to be less common for Yerba de Tajo as its flowers are less showy and more hidden in the foliage. This foliage is not considered toxic to deer and other mammalian herbivores, assuming that it isn't eaten in enormous quantities.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright © 2002-2014 by Dr. John Hilty |
Source | http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/yerba_tajo.htm |
Major Threats
There are no known significant past, ongoing of future threats to this species.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/164051 |
"Notes: Plains, Moist Localities, Naturalized, Native of Tropical America"
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Flower
In axillary or terminal 1-3 capitula; white. Flowering from December-May.
Fruit
An oblong achene, 3-quetrous, hairy above. Fruiting January onwards.
Field tips
Stem strigosely hirsute, rooting at nodes.
Leaf Arrangement
Opposite
Leaf Type
Simple
Leaf Shape
Lanceolate
Leaf Apex
Acute
Leaf Base
Cuneate
Leaf Margin
Serrate-dentate
"
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Keystone Foundation, India Biodiversity Portal |
Source | http://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/229618 |