Elephantopus mollis

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Campanulids
Ordo: Asterales

Familia: Asteraceae
Subfamilia: Vernonioideae
Tribus: Vernonieae
Subtribus: Elephantopinae
Genus: Elephantopus
Species: Elephantopus mollis
Name

Elephantopus mollis Kunth, 1820
Synonyms

Elephantopus carolinensis G.F.W. Mey.
Elephantopus carolinianus var. mollis (Kunth) Beurlin
Elephantopus cernuus Vell.
Elephantopus hypomalacus Blake
Elephantopus martii Graham
Elephantopus mollis var. bracteosus Domin
Elephantopus mollis var. capitulatus Domin
Elephantopus pilosus Philipson
Elephantopus scaber var. albiflorus Kuntze
Elephantopus scaber var. nudicaulis Kuntze
Elephantopus sericeus Graham
Elephantopus serratus Blanco
Elephantopus sordidus Salisb.
Elephantopus tomentosus L.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental:Southern America
Argentina (Catamarca, Chaco, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, Misiones, Salta, Santa Fe, Tucuman), S-Brazil (Parana, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina), Paraguay (Alto Parana, Amambay, Caaguazu, Caazapa, Canindeyu, Central, Concepcion, Cordillera, Guaira, Misiones, Paraguari, San Pedro), Uruguay (Artigas, Rivera, Tacuarembo), N-Brazil (Roraima, Amapa, Para, Amazonas, Tocantins, Acre, Rondonia), NE-Brazil (Maranhao, Piaui, Ceara, Paraiba, Pernambuco, Bahia, Alagoas), WC-Brazil (Mato Grosso, Goias, Distrito Federal), SE-Brazil (Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro), Venezuela (Amazonas, Anzoategui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro, Distrito Federal, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Portuguesa, Sucre, Zulia), Mexico (Chiapas, Colima, Durango, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico State, Michoacan, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Zacatecas), Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia (Amazonas, Antioquia, Bolvar, Boyac, Caldas, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choc, Cundinamarca, Huila, Magdalena, Meta, Nario, Norte de Santander, Quindo, Risaralda, Santander, Tolima, Valle, Vaups, Vichada), Belize, Peru, Nicaragua, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Virgin Isl. (St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, Tortola), Lesser Antilles (Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Marie Galante, Martinique, Montserrat, St. Lucia, St. Vincent), Tobago, Trinidad, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Bolivia (Beni, Chuquisaca, La Paz, Pando, Santa Cruz, Tarija), Ecuador

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Kunth, C.S., Nova Genera et Species Plantarum 4:20[folio]. 1818; 4:26[quarto]. 1820

Links

Hassler, M. 2018. Elephantopus mollis. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 May 28. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Elephantopus mollis. Published online. Accessed: May 28 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Elephantopus mollis in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 May 28.
Tropicos.org 2018. Elephantopus mollis. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 May 28.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Elephantopus mollis in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
English: Elephant foot
español: Lengua de vaca, Lengua de vaca de Sabana

Elephantopus mollis, common names tobacco weed,[2] and soft elephantsfoot,[3] is a tropical species of flowering plant in the sunflower family.

Elephantopus mollis is native to South America as far south as Jujuy Province in Argentina, as well as the West Indies, Central America, and Mexico as far north as Tamaulipas and Nuevo León.[4][5][6][7][8][9] It is also naturalized in Australia, south-eastern Asia, some Pacific Islands, and tropical Africa.[10][11] The species is considered a noxious weed some places.[2][12]

Elephantopus mollis is a coarse perennial herb up to 20 cm (8 inches) tall. Leaves are dark green on the upper side, lighter green on the lower surface, oblanceolate to elliptical, up to 22 cm (9 inches) long. The plant produces arrays of small flower heads, each with only 4 white or pink florets.[13]
References

The Plant List, Elephantopus mollis Kunth
Queensland Government, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Tobacco weed (Elephantopus mollis)
USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Elephantopus mollis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
Tropicos, Elephantopus mollis Kunth
Cabrera, A. L. 1978. Compositae. 10: 1–726. In A. L. Cabrera (ed.) Flora de la Provincia de Jujuy: Republica Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Buenos Aires
Jørgensen, P. M., M. H. Nee & S. G. Beck. (eds.) 2014. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de Bolivia, Monographs in systematic botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 127(1–2): i–viii, 1–1744.
Rzedowski, J. & G. Calderón de Rzedowski. 1995. Familia Compositae. Tribu Vernonieae. 38: 1–49. In J. Rzedowski & G. Calderón de Rzedowski (eds.) Flora del Bajío y Regiones Adyacentes. Instituto de Ecología A.C., Pátzcuaro
Idárraga-Piedrahita, A., R. D. C. Ortiz, R. Callejas Posada & M. Merello. (eds.) 2011. Flora de Antioquia: Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares 2: 9–939. Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín
Cowan, C. P. 1983. Flora de Tabasco. Listados Florísticos de México1: 1–123
Atlas of Living Australia
Jeffrey, C. 1988. Notes on Compositae: V. The Vernonieae in East Tropical Africa. Kew Bulletin 43(2): 195–277.
Invasive Species Compendium, Elephantopus mollis includes distribution maps
Flora of the Marquesas, Elephantopus mollis Kunth