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Annual herb, up to 4 m tall. Stems at first densely pilosulous with short hairs, in age glabrate;leaves alternate, petiolate, the blades rather thin, ovate to triangular-ovate, mostly 7-20 cm long, acuminate, cuneate (or sometimes almost truncate) at the base and then contracted and decurrent on the petiole, simple or sometimes trilobate, the margins serrate, hispid-pilose on both surfaces, especially on the veins, scabrous, glandular-punctate beneath;heads long-pedunculate;involucres 2-3 cm broad;phyllaries biseriate, 1.5-2.5 cm long, subequal or graduate, the outer ones lance-oblong to ovate-oblong, acute or acuminate, finely pilosulous, the herbaceous apex often lax or reflexed, the inner phyllaries similar but usually shorter;ray flowers 9-13, the ligules golden yellow or orange, 2-3 cm long;disc flowers yellow, the corollas puberulent, about 9 mm long;pales acuminate to cuspidate, hispidulous above, 12-18 mm long;achenes more or less appressed-pilose or glabrous, 6-7 mm long;pappus awns 2, early deciduous, or those of the outermost flowers sometimes wanting, 3-6 mm long, the squamellae united nearly to the apex, irregularly dentate, about 2 mm long (Nash, 1976).

Related invasive species

  • Tithonia rotundifolia

Related Farm Practice

  • Hosts
  • Plantations
  • Orchards
Impact

Tithonia rotundifolia is an herbaceous flowering plant that has been widely introduced as an ornamental and has escaped from cultivation to become invasive mostly in ruderal areas, roadsides and in disturbed sites near cultivation. In this species, traits such as its rapid growth rates, abundant production of seeds that are easily dispersed by wind, water and animals, and high germination and recruitment rates are contributing to its invasiveness and allow it to quickly invade new habitats and survive even under less favourable conditions. T. rotundifolia forms dense stands with negative impact on native biodiversity as they outcompete and displace native vegetation, alter natural regeneration and obstruct access to riverbanks (Mawela, 2014;BioNET-EAFRINET, 2018;ISSA, 2018).

Has Cabi datasheet ID
120140
Hosts

T. rotundifolia is a weed of beans, chickpeas, tomato, and maize plantations. It is also listed as a weed of apple orchards and citrus plantations (VillaseƱor and Espinosa, 1998;Vibrans, 2009).

Oss tagged
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