Common Name: Tassel Flower

General Information

Emilia coccinear is an erect, annual plant with few or no branches, growing 20 - 100cm tall.
The plant is sometimes gathered from the wild and used locally for food and medicines. It is often grown as an ornamental in gardens[, ].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Eastern and southern Africa - Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, eastern DR Congo, Burundi, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique.

Habitat

A conspicuous weed of roadsides, waste places, abundant in old cultivated land, often common in dry country at low elevations, found from sea level to 2,000 metres[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.60 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

An easily grown plant[], succeeding in most well-drained soils in a sunny position[]. An ideal plant for hot dry areas and coastal soils[]. Plants flower better when growing on nutritionally poor soils, producing much more lush growth, at the expense of flowering, on rich soils[]. They are drought tolerant once established[].
The plant is said to have escaped from cultivation and invaded natural habitats in some Pacific Islands[].
Slugs can be a problem with this plant in wet conditions[].

Edible Uses

Leaves - raw or cooked[]. Added to salads or used as a potherb[]. The young leaves are chopped and cooked alone or with other vegetables such as peas or beans. Coconut milk is added and the dish is then eaten with
a staple food such as rice[].

Medicinal

The green leaves are crushed and used externally to treat sores, sinusitis and as a poultice for wounds[].
The leaves are mixed with those of Ipomoea eriocarpa, then soaked in cold water and the resulting infusion used as eye drops[].

The roots are boiled and the decoction used to treat VD[]. The roots are also used to treat colic in babies and also as a chest medicine[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts[, ].
The seed can also be sown outdoors in situ in the middle of spring[, ].

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