Elephantopus mollis
Kunth
Asteraceae
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:
m
Photograph by: Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 1975.
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[
].
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 Potential | Yes |
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Habit | Perennial |
| Height | 1.00 m |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Requires a position in full sun, thriving in a range of moisture conditions[
].
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[
]. The seeds are dispersed by wind and also by adhering to clothing and animal fur, feathers etc[
].
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[
]. 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 -
If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.
Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
