Asteraceae FAMILY

Emilia sonchifolia

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Emilia sonchifolia is an erect annual plant, often producing prostrate branches from the very base, it grows around 10 - 150cm tall. A common weed in the tropics, where it has traditional medicinal uses and also provides an edible leaf. It is occasionally cultivated for these leaves, which are frequently sold in local markets, especially in Java[ 183 Title Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Publication Author Facciola. S. Publisher Kampong Publications Year 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 Description Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world. ]. The plant occurs as a weed in many areas of the tropics and is considered to be invasive in various Pacific Islands, countries in S. America etc[ 305 Title Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk Publication Author Website http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands. ]. It is not, however, generally considered to be very noxious or harmful[ 418 Title Ecocrop Publication Author Website http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate; tropical

Native RangePantropical, probably originating in southern Asia.

HabitatWaste ground in C. and S. Japan[ 58 Title Flora of Japan. (English translation) Publication Author Ohwi. G. Publisher Smithsonian Institution Year 1965 ISBN - Description The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader. ]. Moist areas and uncultivated ground at elevations up to 1.700 metres in Nepal[ 272 Title Plants and People of Nepal Publication Author Manandhar. N. P. Publisher Timber Press. Oregon. Year 2002 ISBN 0-88192-527-6 Description Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses. ]. A very common weed of field crops, occurring at elevations between sea level and 3,000 metres[ 428 Title Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 65 Publication Author Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Year 1978 ISBN Description An excellent botanical publication, available for download from the Internet. This volume contains parts of the Flora of Panama. ].