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Useful Tropical Plants

Elephantopus mollis

Kunth

Asteraceae

+ Synonyms

Elephantopus carolinianus mollis (Kunth) Beurl.

Elephantopus carolinianus simplex Nutt.

Elephantopus cernuus Vell.

Elephantopus hypomalacus S.F.Blake

Elephantopus martii Graham

Elephantopus pilosus Philipson

Elephantopus scaber auct.

Elephantopus scaber martii (Sch. Bip.) Hassk.

Elephantopus scaber tomentosus (L.) Sch.Bip.

Common Name:

Elephantopus mollis
m
Photograph by: Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 1975.
Creative Commons License
Elephantopus mollis Elephantopus mollis Elephantopus mollis Elephantopus mollis Elephantopus mollis

General Information

Elephantopus mollis is a herbaceous perennial plant growing up to 100cm tall, occasionally from a creeping rootstock[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
,
457
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 62
Publication
 
Author
 
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden
Year
1975
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent botanical publication, available for download from the Internet. This volume contains the Asclepiadaceae section of the Flora of Panama.
]. The stems are unbranched, except for the inflorescence, but the plant produces basal rosettes of growth that densely cover the ground[
305
Title
Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

457
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 62
Publication
 
Author
 
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden
Year
1975
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent botanical publication, available for download from the Internet. This volume contains the Asclepiadaceae section of the Flora of Panama.

Range

Originally native to tropical America and the Caribbean, the plant is now a pantropical weed.

Habitat

Open waste places and grasslands; at elevations up to 2,000 metres[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].

Properties

Weed PotentialYes
Medicinal Rating *  *
HabitPerennial
Height1.00 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details


Requires a position in full sun, thriving in a range of moisture conditions[
305
Title
Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
].
Occurs as a major weed in pastures, an intermediate weed on roadsides and wasteland, and a minor weed in other disturbed places. It produces a thick ground cover that smothers other vegetation[
305
Title
Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
]. The seeds are dispersed by wind and also by adhering to clothing and animal fur, feathers etc[
305
Title
Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The leaves and whole plant are antibacterial, antiviral, diaphoretic, diuretic, febrifuge, hepatic, tonic and vulnerary[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
,
348
Title
Medicinal Plants of the Guianas
Publication
 
Author
DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J.
Website
http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html
Publisher
Smithsonian Museum
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
,
360
Title
Philippine Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
]. They are also reported to have an emetic action[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].
Applied externally, the leaves are macerated between the hands and the juice then applied topically to relieve itching, especially when this is due to athlete's foot[
348
Title
Medicinal Plants of the Guianas
Publication
 
Author
DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J.
Website
http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html
Publisher
Smithsonian Museum
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
]. The leaves, both fresh and crushed or dried and powdered, are applied to wounds as a vulnerary[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
,
360
Title
Philippine Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
].

The plant contains the sesquiterpene lactone, deoxyelephantopin, which is an anti-tumor chemical[
348
Title
Medicinal Plants of the Guianas
Publication
 
Author
DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J.
Website
http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html
Publisher
Smithsonian Museum
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
].
Extracts of the whole plant significantly inhibit the Walker-256 carcinosarcoma in rats[
348
Title
Medicinal Plants of the Guianas
Publication
 
Author
DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J.
Website
http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html
Publisher
Smithsonian Museum
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant produces a thick ground cover that smothers other vegetation[
305
Title
Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
]. This could be put to good use in the right situation, but the main problem is that the plant easily becomes a serious weed[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-28. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Elephantopus%20mollis>

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