Blumea hieracifolia
(D. Don) DC. in Wight, Contrib. Bot. Ind. 15.
1834; Hook.f., Fl. Brit. Erigeron hieracifolium D. Don, Prodr. Fl.
Nepal. 172.
1825. B. sericans Hook.f., Fl. Ind. 3: 263. 1881. Brit. India 3: 262. 1881.
Herbs, erect, silky villous; stems unbranched or sometimes branched at
apex, 10-150 cm tall, densely silky sericeous to woolly tomentose. Lower larger
and crowded at the base, obovate-spathulate, elliptic or oblong, acute or obtuse,
margins irregularly obscurely dentate or serrate-·dentate with blackish indurated
teeth, 2-20 x 0.3-0.6 cm, velutinous on the upper surface, densely sericeous to
woolly on the lower surface. Heads globose, in axillary and terminal sessile or
pedunculate clusters forming a dense panicle or interrupted-spicate inflorescence
sessile, 6-10 mm in diam. Involucral bracts straw coloured or distinctly purple
tipped, oblong-lanceolate to oblanceolate, 1-10 x 0.5-0.75 mm, acute to
acuminate, reflexed at maturity, woolly to glabrate outside. Receptacle slightly
convex, alveolate, 2-4 mm in diam., glabrous. Corolla of bisexual florets
tubular, 4-4.5 mm long, 5-lobed; lobes triangular, pubescent, corolla of female
florets filiform, 4-5 mm long, 3 to 4-lobed, glabrous. Achenes brown, oblong,
ribbed, sparsely pubescent. Pappus white, 3-4.5 mm long.
Blumea hieracifolia (D. Don) DC. is a very variable species with 4
clearly distinguished varieties as follows.
KEY TO THE VARIETIES
1a. Plants white woolly; involucral bracts usually straw coloured; leaves usually radical,
obscurely dentate
