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Sow-Thistle Blumea
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Sow-Thistle Blumea
A Native Unknown Photo: Sushant More
Common name: Sow-Thistle Blumea, Wavyleaf false oxtongue
Botanical name: Blumea sinuata    Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower family)
Synonyms: Blumea javanica, Blumea laciniata, Blumea sonchifolia

Sow-Thistle Blumea is a foul-smelling herb 20-180 cm tall from a taproot; stems erect to rising up, usually branched from the base, hairless to hairy. Leaves are inverted-lanceshaped, obovate to elliptic in outline, sometimes fiddle-shaped, 4.5-36.5 cm long, 0.8-21 cm wide, the lower ones pinnately lobed, sometimes with a large at branch-ends lobe, becoming progressively less lobed above, margins irregularly toothed, the lower ones stalked, leaf-stalks 1-6 cm long, stalkless above. Flower-heads are borne at branch-ends, in large, open panicles. Involucral bracts are often purple-tinged, reflexed at maturity, 1-8 mm long, hairy; receptacle sparsely hairy. Florets are yellow, those of perfect florets 5-lobed, 4-5 mm long, those of marginal pistillate florets 2-3-lobed, 3.5-4.5 mm long. Achenes are brown, ribbed, about 4 mm long. Sow-Thistle Blumea is native to Tropical & Subtropical Asia to W .Pacific. It is also found in the Himalayas.

Identification credit: Sushant More Photographed in Mumbai & Delhi.

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