Emilia coccinea (Sims) G.Don, Asteraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Emilia sagittata (Willd.) DC.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Flora's paintbrush, tasselflower

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Plants 2-10 dm tall, unbranched or sparingly branched, somewhat arachnoid-villous below, otherwise glabrous or nearly so.  Leaves variable in shape and size, narrowly elliptic to obovate or oblong-lanceolate, usually 4-15 cm long, 1-7 cm wide, margins subentire to dentate.  Heads urn-shaped to turbinate, nearly as long as wide, ca. " as long as corolla, bracts 10-13, usually 6-9 mm long; florets usually more than 50 per head, conspicuously longer than the involucre by usually 2-5 mm, corollas bright orange, the lobes 1.6-2.2 mm long"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 312).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "sparingly naturalized in low elevation, dry disturbed habitats" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 312).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Africa and perhaps Madagascar (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 312).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (pp. 75-76) Voucher cited: Fosberg & Sachet 63228
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (pp. 75-76) Vouchers cited: Fosberg 62974, Fosberg 63809, Fosberg 62653
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2000) (p. 10) Voucher cited: C. Imada, W. Char & C. Morden 99-11 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 312)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 312) Voucher cited: Heller 2296
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 92)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Emilia coccinea is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Emilia coccinea as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Emilia coccinea may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

Other Latin names:  Emilia sagittata (Willd.) DC.

References:

Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2000. New Hawaiian plant records for 1999. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1999. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 63:9-16.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), personal communication.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.