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Tithonia diversifolia
Asteraceae FAMILY

Tithonia diversifolia

Tithonia diversifolia

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual/Perennial
Growth—

A plant of the tropics and subtropics, it can also be grown as a summer annual in temperate areas. It the tropics it can be found at elevations from 200 - 2,300 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 15 - 31°c, but can tolerate 12 - 38°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 700 - 2,500mm[1]. Succeeds in any well-drained, moderately fertile soil in a sunny position[2]. Plants are moderately drought-resistant[1]. Commonly grown as an ornamental, the plant has escaped from cultivation and become a weed in many areas of the tropics and subtropics[3]. The plant can flower and produce seed all year round[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Tithonia+diversifolia>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Philippine Medicinal Plants — http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html ↩︎A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
  4. [4]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  5. [5]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
  6. [6]Flora of Costa Rica — Standley P.C. · Field Museum of Natural History; Chicago · 1938 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎Rather dated, but an excellent treatment of the area. Available for download from the internet.
  7. [7]In-Vitro Efficacy of Certain Essential Oils and Plant Extracts against Three Major Pathogens of Jatropha curcas L. — Purnajyoti Deka Bhuyan; Phatik Tamuli; Paran Boruah · 2015 · http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2015.62041 ↩︎