Vernonia travancorica J. Hk. - ASTERACEAE

Synonym : Vernonia volkameriaefolia Bedd.

Vernacular names : Tamil: Thenpu.  Malayalam: Thempu.

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Botanical descriptions Ecology Distribution Literatures

Botanical descriptions :

Habit : Small trees, up to 8 m tall.
Branches and Branchlets : Branchlets terete with scars of fallen leaves, puberulous.
Leaves : Leaves simple, alternate, spiral, clustered at twig ends; petiole 0.6-1.2 cm long, flat above, glabrous; lamina 4-15 x 2.3-7.5 cm, obovate, apex obtuse or rounded, base cuneate, margin undulate, coriaceous, glabrous, midrib flat above; secondary_nerves 5-8 pairs; tertiary_nerves reticulo-percurrent.
Inflorescence / Flower : Flower heads in terminal panicles, purple.
Fruit and Seed : Achenes ribbed with yellow glands; 1-seeded.

Ecology :

Along margins in medium elevation evergreen forests between 1000 and 1700 m.

Distribution :

Endemic to the Western_Ghats- Agasthyamalai and Varushanad Hills of South Sahyadri.

Literatures :

Fl. Brit. India 3: 240.1881; Gamble, Fl. Madras 2: 673. 1993 (re. ed); Sasidharan, Biodiversity documentation for Kerala- Flowering Plants, part 6: 257. 2004.

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