Blumea clarkei Hook.f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 3: 267. 1881. B. malabarica Hook.f., in fl. Brit. India 3: 267. 1881.

Herbs, perennial with a fibrous rootstock; stems unbranched, 0.6-2 m, tall, erect or climbing, velutinous especially in younger parts. Leaves obovate or oblanceolate to oblong-linear, base acute or apiculate, serrate or dentate with mucronate teeth, 4-15 x 0.7-6.0 cm, glabrate on the upper surface orvelutinous on both the surfaces. Heads arranged in narrow, terminal, compact panicles, 8- 12 mm in diam., subsessile with velutinous peduncle (up to 5 mm) in dense clusters. Involucral bracts 1.5-10 mm long, the outer lanceolate, inner linear- lanceolate, acute, more or less scarious with ciliate apices and margins, hairy on dorsal surface. Receptacle 4-5 mm in diam., densely pilose, alveolate. Corolla of bisexual forets yellow, tubular, 5-6.5 mm long, 5-lobed; lobes papillate, acute, pubescent; corolla of female florets filiform, 5-6 mm long, 2-3- lobed, glabrous. Achenes pale brown, oblong, ribbed, sparsely pubescent. Pappus pure white, 5-6 mm long, hairy.

Fl. & Fr. Sept.- May.

Distrib. India: E. Himalayas up to 1000 m. Sikkim, Assam, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Myanmar, China, Philippines and S.E. Asia.

Notes. B. clarkei is related to B. riparia and B. hieracifolia, but differs from the former in the nature of pubescence, leaf margins and involucral bracts, and from the latter in having petiolate leaves and densely pilose non silky woolly receptacles.

B. clarkei shows great variation in leaf forms which appears to be linked with its geographical distribution.