African Globe Thistle is a plant with 40-50 cm
tall, usually robust stems, which are hairless or velvet-hairy, curved,
ascending, branched, winged, wings entire. Stem leaves are
obovate-oblong, 3-5 cm long, 1.5-2.2 cm wide, velvety or becoming
hairless, base narrowed, tip rounded. Inflorescence consists of
clusters of white globose or ovoid flower-heads about 8 mm in diameter.
Flower-heads are carried on hairless, winged stalks. Bracts are
slender, long-pointed. Flower-head cup is bell-shaped, about 3 x 2.5
mm. Involucre is about 3 x 2.5 mm, phyllaries subequal, oblanceolate,
glabrous or only outermost ones abaxially glandular. Receptacle is
naked. Marginal florets are numerous, corolla tubular, about 1.5 mm,
style tip blunt. Central florets are about 3; corolla about 1.5 mm,
5-toothed, base of anthers entire, filaments dilated, glabrous; style
cylindric, shortly bifid. Achenes cylindric, ca. 1 mm, gland-dotted,
without pappus. African Globe Thistle is found in tropical Africa, and
Asia throughout Malaya to Australia.
Flowering: December-May.
Medicinal uses:
In Ayurveda, the plant is believed to pacify vitiated vata, pitta
epilepsy, migraine, jaundice, fever, cough, hemorrhoids, helminthiasis,
skin diseases and as nervine tonic.
Identification credit: Shrikant Ingalhalikar
Photographed at Mankhurd, Mumbai.
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The flower labeled African Globe Thistle is ...