Emilia fosbergii
(Florida tassel-flower)

Pictures

Picture	Title	Caption	Copyright
Title Inflorescences Caption Emilia fosbergii (Florida tassel-flower, Cupid's-shaving-brush); inflorescences. Copyright ©Smithsonian Institution/Pedro Acevedo-Rodriguez	Inflorescences	Emilia fosbergii (Florida tassel-flower, Cupid's-shaving-brush); inflorescences.	©Smithsonian Institution/Pedro Acevedo-Rodriguez
Title Inflorescences Caption Emilia fosbergii (Florida tassel-flower, Cupid's-shaving-brush); inflorescences. Copyright ©Smithsonian Institution/Pedro Acevedo-Rodriguez	Inflorescences	Emilia fosbergii (Florida tassel-flower, Cupid's-shaving-brush); inflorescences.	©Smithsonian Institution/Pedro Acevedo-Rodriguez
Title Inflorescence Caption Emilia fosbergii (Florida tassel-flower, Cupid's-shaving-brush); close-up of inflorescence. Copyright ©Smithsonian Institution/Pedro Acevedo-Rodriguez	Inflorescence	Emilia fosbergii (Florida tassel-flower, Cupid's-shaving-brush); close-up of inflorescence.	©Smithsonian Institution/Pedro Acevedo-Rodriguez

Identity

Preferred Scientific Name

• Emilia fosbergii Nicolson

Preferred Common Name

• Florida tassel-flower

Other Scientific Names

• Emilia javanica (Burm. f.) C.B. Rob.
• Emilia sagittata DC.
• Emilia sonchifolia var. rosea Bello

International Common Names

• English: Cupid's-shaving-brush; Flora's paintbrush; purple emilia; red sow thistle
• Spanish: clavelito; lamparita; pincel de amor; pincel de poeta; pincelillo
• Chinese: ying rong hua

Local Common Names

• Colombia: clavelillo
• Dominican Republic: pincelito
• Lesser Antilles: Cupid's paintbrush; rabbit meat; red tassel
• Puerto Rico: clavelito colorado; clavlitos del cafetal
• Venezuela: hierba socialista

Summary of Invasiveness

E. fosbergii is a cosmopolitan annual herb included in the Global Compendium of Weeds (Randall, 2012). It is fast-growing, with the capacity to grow as a weed and colonize disturbed areas, waste ground, gardens, abandoned farmland, coastal forests, forest edges, pastures, roadsides, rocky areas, and riverbanks (Wagner et al., 1999; Vibrans, 2011; Pruski 2014). It produces large amounts of wind-dispersed seeds (>5000 seeds per plant; Mejía et al., 1994) which is a feature facilitating the likelihood of spreading and colonizing new habitats. Currently, E. fosbergii is listed as invasive in Mexico, Central America, West Indies, and on several islands in the Pacific Ocean (see Distribution Table for details).

Taxonomic Tree

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Asterales
•                         Family: Asteraceae
•                             Genus: Emilia
•                                 Species: Emilia fosbergii

Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature

Asteraceae is one of the most species-rich families of flowering plants. The family includes 1620 genera and about 23,600 species (Stevens, 2012). Species within the Asteraceae are very variable in their growth form and habitat, but may be recognized by their “capitulate” and involucrate inflorescences in which numerous small flowers open first on the outside and are infrequently subtended by bracts. The anthers in this family are usually fused and form a tube through which the style extends before the two stigmatic lobes separate and become recurved. The rather small, single-seeded fruits usually have a plumose “pappus” and are frequently dispersed by wind (Stevens, 2012).

The genus Emilia comprises approximately 100 species distributed mainly in tropical regions of the Old World (Pruski, 2014). E. fosbergii is a cosmopolitan species spread throughout the tropical and humid subtropical regions, with wide distribution in tropical and subtropical America (Pruski, 2014).

Description

E. fosbergii is an annual, erect or ascending herb, branched, 20 to 50 cm (up to 100 cm) tall. Stems glabrous to sparsely pilose or sometimes prominently villous-pilose near the axils of the middle cauline leaves. Leaves alternate, broadly ovate to oblanceolate, often tapering to a prominently winged petiole and therefore appearing pandurate, the base sessile to auriculate, the margin weakly serrate to dentate or sometimes lobed, the teeth callose-tipped, overall 5-10 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, about 2 times longer than wide, the uppermost leaves reduced to linear serrate clasping bracts. Inflorescence of one to several headed, loose, corymbiform cymes arising terminally or laterally in the axils of the upper cauline leaves. Heads turbinate or sometimes weakly urceolate or becoming weakly campanulate in age, robust, 2-3 times longer than wide, the florets prominently exserted approximately 2 mm beyond the involucre; involucral bracts 8-13, linear, (7-) 9-12 mm long; receptacle flat to convex, the carpopodia forming prominent tubercles after achenes have been shed; florets 15-30, varying greatly in size with the robustness of the plant, the corollas pink to light purple or red but not orange. Achene reddish brown to light tan, columnar, approximately 5 mm long with a row of strigose-hirsute pubescence on each of the 5 prominent ribs; pappus of abundant, white, capillary hairs (Flora of Taiwan Editorial Committee, 2014; Missouri Botanical Garden, 2014).

Distribution

The origin of E. fosbergii is uncertain, but most authors agree that it is native to the Old World (USDA-ARS, 2014). It has been suggested that it may have originated in Asia and Africa, but it is now widely distributed in warm regions of the world, principally throughout the New World (Wagner et al., 1999; Gargiullo et al., 2008; Flann, 2009; Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2014; Pruski, 2014; USDA-ARS, 2014).

Distribution Table

The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

History of Introduction and Spread

E. fosbergii was probably introduced and established in the New World in the latter part of the nineteenth century, probably intially in the USA and the West Indies and subsequently from Mexico to northern South America (Smith 1991; Wagner et al., 1999; Borges 2014; Pruski 2014). It was apparently introduced into islands in the Pacific Ocean in the early part of the twentieth century (Smith, 1991).

Risk of Introduction

The risk of introduction of E. fosbergii is high. The species produces large numbers of small wind-dispersed seeds and has the potential to grow as a weed in ruderal areas, gardens, and pasture lands. Consequently, this species has the potential to spread much further than it has to date.

Habitat

E. fosbergii is a common weed in open and disturbed areas, cultivated land, pastures, coastal forests, forest edges, along roadsides and riverbanks, and in rocky areas in moist and seasonally dry areas (Gargiullo et al., 2008; Vibrans, 2011; Graveson, 2012). In Hawaii, where this species is listed as invasive, it is common in low elevation, dry, urban and disturbed habitats (Wagner et al., 1999). It can also be cultivated as a garden ornamental (Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2014).

Habitat List

Hosts/Species Affected

E. fosbergii has been listed as a weed in rice plantations in Colombia and coffee plantations in Costa Rica. It is also listed as a weed in cassava and sugarcane plantations in Central and South America (Echegoyen-Ramos et al., 1996, Murillo et al., 2006; Vibrans, 2011).

Growth Stages

Biology and Ecology

Genetics

E. fosbergii is a tetraploid species (Moraes and Guerra, 2010) with a chromosome number of 2n = 20 (Guerra and Nogueira, 1990). 

Longevity, Phenology and Reproduction      

E. fosbergii is a fast-growing annual herb (Flann, 2009; Pruski et al., 2014). It is wind-pollinated and under favourable environmental conditions (warm and humid) it produces flowers and seeds for many months (Vibrans, 2011). In Panama, it has been collected in flower from August to December (Correa et al., 2004).        

Environmental Requirements

E. fosbergii grows as a weed, so it prefers areas with full sunlight and moderate to high water availability. This species prefers sandy-loam soils but can be found growing on a range of soils in wet to seasonally dry regions (Gargiullo et al., 2008; Vibrans, 2011).

Climate

Natural enemies

Notes on Natural Enemies

E. fosbergii is reported as a host of the nematodes Meloidogyne incognita and Pratylenchus spp. The whitefly species Bemisia tabaci, Aleurocanthus woglumi, Aleurotrachelus sp., Aleurothrixus sp., Aleuroplatus sp., and Trialeurodes have also been reported for this species (Alan et al., 1995). In Jamaica, the lethal yellowing (16Sr IV) group of phytoplasmas was recently reported affecting E. fosbergii (Brown et al., 2008).

Means of Movement and Dispersal

E. fosbergii spreads by seeds. Each plant has the potential to produce >5000 wind-dispersed seeds (Mejía et al., 1994). Seeds may be secondarily dispersed as a contaminant in crop seeds, pasture seeds, soils, and in agricultural machinery (Vibrans, 2011).

Impact Summary

Economic Impact

E. fosbergii is a weed with economic impacts mainly in agriculture, pasture and garden activities. This species is listed as a weed in crops including rice, cassava, coffee, and sugarcane (Echegoyen-Ramos et al., 1996, Murillo et al., 2006; Vibrans, 2011).

Environmental Impact

E. fosbergii has the potential to negatively impact natural and seminatural habitats in coastal areas, forest edges and natural grasslands (Wagner et al., 1999; Kairo et al., 2003; Villaseñor and Espinosa-Garcia, 2004; Vibrans, 2011; Chacon and Saborio, 2012; PIER, 2014; Pruski, 2014).

Threatened Species

Risk and Impact Factors

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Highly adaptable to different environments
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Highly mobile locally
• Fast growing

• Reduced native biodiversity
• Threat to/ loss of native species

• Competition - monopolizing resources
• Competition
• Pest and disease transmission
• Rapid growth

• Highly likely to be transported internationally accidentally
• Difficult to identify/detect as a commodity contaminant

Uses

E. fosbergii is occasionally cultivated as a garden ornamental (Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2014; USDA-ARS, 2014). In Central America (Costa Rica and Nicaragua) it is used medicinally to treat high blood pressure (Gargiullo et al., 2008).

Similarities to Other Species/Conditions

E. fosbergii can be vegetatively similar to Emilia sonchifolia and Emilia coccinea, but these species can be distinguished based on leaves and corolla features as described in the following key (Pruski, 2014): 

• E. sonchifolia: Proximal leaves lyrate-pinnatifid; involucres narrow-cylindrical, corollas included to only slightly exserted; corollas usually pink or lavender, lobes 0.5-0.8 mm; disk floret styles indistinctly appendiculate, appendages to 0.1 mm, no longer than broad, convex.
   
• E. coccinea: Proximal leaves not lyrate-pinnatifid; involucres broad-cylindrical to hemispherical, corollas moderately to well-exserted; corollas lobes 1.1-2.2 mm; disk floret styles obviously appendiculate, appendages 0.2-0.3 mm, caudate. Leaf margins nearly subentire; involucres campanulate, about as long as broad, corollas well-exserted; corollas bright orange to red, lobes 1.6-2.2 mm.
   
• E. fosbergii: Proximal leaves not lyrate-pinnatifid; involucres broad-cylindrical to hemispherical, corollas moderately to well-exserted. Leaf margins usually coarsely dentate; involucres broad-cylindrical, (1-) 2× as long as broad, corollas moderately exserted; corollas usually pale red or pinkish-red, lobes 1.1-1.6 mm.

References

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Links to Websites

Contributors

06/03/14 Original text by:

Julissa Rojas-Sandoval, Department of Botany-Smithsonian NMNH, Washington DC, USA

Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, Department of Botany-Smithsonian NMNH, Washington DC, USA

Distribution Maps