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.

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

Zambia: 112 taxa.

Insects associated with this genus:
Basiotha schenckii (Brown-striped hawk) Larval foodplant
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Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
acrocephala Klatt N
adenocephala S.Moore W
adoensis Sch. Bip. ex Walp. var. adoensis Image
adoensis Sch. Bip. ex Walp. var. kotschyana (Sch. Bip. ex Walp.) G.V. PopeN,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
adoensis Sch. Bip. ex Walp.[Agg]N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
alticola G.V.Pope N,E
ambigua Kotschy & Peyr. W,C
amblyolepis Baker N
amoena S. Moore
amygdalina DelileB,N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
anthelmintica (L.) Willd.B,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
bainesii Oliv. & Hiern subsp. bainesii N,EDescription, Image
bellinghamii S. MooreN,W,C,EDescription, Image
biafrae Oliv. & Hiern N
brachycalyx O.Hoffm. N
bruceana Wild N
bullulata S.Moore W
calyculata S. MooreN,W
catumbensis Hiern W
chloropappa Baker N,CDescription, Image
chthonocephala O.Hoffm. N,C,E
colorata (Willd.) Drake subsp. colorata N,C,SDescription, Image
colorata (Willd.) Drake subsp. oxyura (O. Hoffm.) C. JeffreyN,EDescription
daphnifolia O.Hoffm.
denudata Hutch. & B.L.Burtt N,WDescription, Image
dewildemaniana Muschl. N,W
exsertiflora Baker var. exsertiflora N,W,C,S
exsertiflora Baker var. tenuicalyx G.V.Pope N,W
filipendula HiernW,CDescription, Image
gerberiformis Oliv. & Hiern subsp. gerberiformis var. gerberiformis N,WImage
gerberiformis Oliv. & Hiern subsp. gerberiformis var. hockii (De Wild. & Muschl.) G.V.PopeW,C
gerberiformis Oliv. & Hiern subsp. macrocyanus (O.Hoffm.) C.Jeffrey W,CDescription, Image
glaberrima Welw. ex O.Hoffm.B,N,W,CDescription, Image
glabra (Steetz) Vatke var. glabra N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
glabra (Steetz) Vatke var. laxa (Steetz) BrenanB,C,E,SDescription, Image
griseopapposa G.V.Pope
guineensis Benth.
helodea Wild [DD]N
holstii O. Hoffm.NDescription, Image
ianthina Muschl. W
incompta S.Moore N,WDescription
isoetifolia Wild [VU]
jelfiae S. Moore var. albida G.V. PopeN,W,CDescription, Image
jelfiae S. Moore var. jelfiae N,W,C,SDescription, Image
karaguensis Oliv. & HiernN,WDescription, Image
kirkii Oliv. & HiernN,C,E,SDescription, Image
lafukensis S.Moore NDescription
lasiopus O. Hoffm.
longipedunculata De Wild. var. longipedunculata N,WDescription, Image
longipedunculata De Wild. var. manikensis (De Wild.) G.V.Pope B,N,W
longipedunculata De Wild. var. retusa (R.E.Fr.) G.V.Pope N,W,C
luembensis De Wild. & Muschl.N,W,CDescription, Image
lycioides Wild [DD]W
madefacta Wild [DD]N
mbalensis G.V.Pope
meiostephana C. JeffreyDescription, Image
melleri Oliv. & Hiern var. melleri B,N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
melleri Oliv. & Hiern var. superba (O. Hoffm.) C. JeffreyB,N,W,C,E,S
miombicola Wild N
muelleri Wild subsp. brevicuspis G.V.Pope N
mumpullensis Hiern W
mushituensis Wild [LR-lc]N,W
musofensis S. Moore var. miamensis (S. Moore) G.V. PopeN,W,C,S
musofensis S.Moore var. musofensis N,W,C
mutimushii Wild [VU]N
myriantha Hook. f.N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
najas Wild [VU]W
natalensis Sch. Bip. ex Walp.N,C,EDescription, Image
nestor S. MooreN,W,C,EDescription, Image
oligocephala (DC.) Sch. Bip. ex Walp.N,CDescription, Image
orchidorrhiza Welw. ex Hiern W
perrottetii Sch.Bip. ex Walp. B,N,W,C,SDescription, Image
petersii Oliv. & Hiern ex Oliv.B,N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
polysphaera Baker N,W,CDescription, Image
poskeana Vatke & Hildebr. subsp. poskeana Description, Image
poskeana Vatke & Hildebrandt subsp. samfyana (G.V.Pope) G.V.Pope
potamophila Klatt BDescription
praecox Welw. ex O.Hoffm. W
praemorsa Muschl. N,W,E
pteropoda Oliv. & HiernE
purpurea Sch. Bip. ex Walp.N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
retifolia S.Moore N
rhodanthoidea Muschl.C,E,SDescription, Image
ringoetii De Wild. W
robinsonii Wild W
rosenii R.E. Fr.B,C,SDescription, Image
roseoviolacea De Wild. N
schweinfurthii Oliv. & Hiern W,C
solweziensis Wild W
steetziana Oliv. & Hiern
stellulifera (Benth.) C.Jeffrey W
stenocephala Oliv.N,W,C,EDescription, Image
subaphylla Baker N,W,C,SDescription, Image
subplumosa O.Hoffm. B,W
sunzuensis Wild NDescription, Image
suprafastigiata KlattB,N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
sylvicola PopeB,N,W,C,SDescription, Image
syringifolia O.Hoffm. EDescription, Image
tanganyikensis R.E.Fr. [LR-lc]NDescription
teucrioides Welw. ex O.Hoffm. B
thomsoniana Oliv. & Hiern ex Oliv.N,W,C,E,S
tolypophora Mattf.N,C
tuberifera R.E. Fr. N,W
turbinella S.Moore N,W,EDescription, Image
ugandensis S. MooreB,N,W,C,E
undulata Oliv. & Hiern W
upembaensis Kalanda W
verrucata Klatt W
viatorum S.Moore
violaceopapposa De Wild. subsp. nuttii G.V.Pope
wollastonii S.MooreEDescription, Image
zambiana G.V.Pope [VU]N

Other sources of information about Vernonia:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Vernonia
Flora of Burundi: Vernonia
Flora of Caprivi: Vernonia
Flora of the DRC: Vernonia
Flora of Malawi: Vernonia
Flora of Mozambique: Vernonia
Flora of Rwanda: Vernonia
Flora of Zimbabwe: 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: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Nicholas Wightman, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-25

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wightman, N., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2025). Flora of Zambia: Genus page: Vernonia.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=1464, retrieved 2 April 2025

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