Vernonia sunzuensis Wild

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Habit
Brachystegia woodland
Tondwa GMA, Nsama District
Mar 2024
Photo: Nick Wightman

Leaves
Brachystegia woodland
Tondwa GMA, Nsama District
Mar 2024
Photo: Nick Wightman

Inflorescence
Brachystegia woodland
Tondwa GMA, Nsama District
Mar 2024
Photo: Nick Wightman

Flower
Brachystegia woodland
Tondwa GMA, Nsama District
Mar 2024
Photo: Nick Wightman

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Synonyms:	Baccharoides sunzuensis Wild
Common names:
Frequency:	Local to locally common
Status:	Native
Description:	An erect slender perennial herb or subshrub to c. 1.5 m tall, from a large woody rootstock. Stems 1-several, becoming woody below, simple, branching only near the apex, densely leafy, striate, greyish or pale-brown shortly-woolly or felted-tomentose; hairs short-stalked with an elongate oblique terminal cell, matted. Leaves subsessile, 4–18 x 1.5–4.5 cm, ± oblong-elliptic to oblanceolate or obovate, apex acute to subobtuse or rounded, base cuneate to rounded, margins serrate to coarsely serrate, lamina coriaceous, sometimes ± discolorous; upper surface green, glabrous, and finely reticulate; lower surface appressed grey-brown tomentellous or felted. Synflorescence large, capitula numerous in 15–60-capitulate clusters; capitulum-clusters terminal on stem and leafy branches; branches ± ascending, to c. 15(20) cm long, grey-brown felted, capitula stalks 0 or to c. 5 mm long. nvolucres 9–12 x 4–5 mm, ± narrowly subcylindric, not spreading. Phyllaries tightly imbricate, longer to the inside, pubescent or felted outside where exposed, the outer phyllaries from c. 2 mm long, lanceolate-ovate; the middle phyllaries to c. 3 mm wide, to oblong-oblanceolate; the inner phyllaries to c. 11 x 2 mm, narrowly oblong-oblanceolate and obtuse at apex. Florets 3–4 per capitulum. Corollas pale-mauve to white, 11–14 mm long, slender tubular below abruptly widening into a cylindric limb well exserted above the pappus. Achenes pale- to dark-brown when mature, 3–4 mm. long, subcylindric to narrowly turbinate, 10-ribbed (or 20-ribbed with the development of secondary ribs), strigose-hispid; pappus several-seriate, copious, caducous, the setae narrowly-flattened and barbellate, increasing from c. 2 mm. long on outside to c. 10 mm. long inside.
Type location:	Zambia, Mbala
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	sunzuensis: named after Mt. Sunzu where the type specimen was collected
Habitat:	Brachystegia woodland or secondary bushland or grassland derived from it.
Altitude range:	1050 - 2200 m
Flowering time:	Mar - Apr
Worldwide distribution:	DRC, Tanzania and Zambia
Zambian distribution (Flora Zambesiaca):	N
Zambian distribution (Provinces):	N
Growth form(s):	Perennial.
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated:	Tuesday 30 July 2024
Literature:	Pope, G.V. (1992). Compositae Flora Zambesiaca 6(1) Pages 133 - 134. (Includes a picture). Wild, H. (1978). New and interesting Vernonia species from the Flora Zambesiaca area Kirkia 11(1) Page 13. Protologue

Other sources of information about Vernonia sunzuensis:

External websites:

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