1410 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM 



Tribe IX. Mutisieae. 

 Corollas all regular, tubular, 5-lobed 109. GOCHNATIA. 



Corollas all bilabiate. 



CoroUas crimson; involucre regularly graduate 110. ONOSEBIS. 



Corollas yellow or whitish; involucre not regularly graduate. 



CoroUas yellow; involucre double 111. TRIXIS. 



Corollas whitish; involucre nearly 1-seriate 112. JUNQIA. 



1. VERNONIA Schreb. Gen. PI. 2: 541. 1791. 

 References: Gleason, Bull. N. Y. Bot. Card. 4: 164-235. 1906; Gleason, 

 N. Amer. Fl. 33: 50-101. 1922. 



Herbs, shrubs, or trees, with alternate leaves and small to large, usually purple 

 heads; involucre cylindric to hemispheric, the phyllaries graduated, dry or indurate' 

 rarely with herbaceous tips; flowers 1 to very numerous, all tubular, hermaphro- 

 dite, fertile; receptacle naked; anthers sagittate at base; achenes 4 to 10-ribbed, 

 sometimes with an apical callous border; pappus biseriate, the outer much 

 shorter, subpaleaceous or rarely setose, the inner setose. 



The root of Vernonia nigritiana Oliver & Hiern of West Africa is said to be 

 emploj^ed as a febrifuge, antidysenteric, and emetic, and to resemble somewhat 

 ipecac in its therapeutic properties. It contains a glucoside, vernonin, which is a 

 cardiac poison comparable to digitalin, but less active. 

 Heads large, the involucre 12 to 20 mm. high. 



Phyllaries (at least the outer) with ovate or lanceolate to deltoid, herbaceous, 

 spreading or reflexed tips. 



Leaves green and merely pilose-strigose beneath 1. V. salvinae. 



Leaves grayish-tomentose beneath. 



Phyllaries glabrous 2. V. mexicana. 



Outer phyllaries denselj^ pubescent 3. V. callilepis. 



Phyllaries without spreading herbaceous tips. 



Heads subsessile, in close clusters; phyllaries narrowly lanceolate to linear- 

 lanceolate, acuminate, obscurely cuspidate; leaves canescent-tomentose 



beneath 4. V. arctioides. 



Heads pedunculate, not in close clusters; phyllaries oblong, truncate or 

 rounded, abruptly mucronate; leaves green or griseous-tomentose 

 beneath. 



Leaves acute at base 5. V. alamani. 



Leaves rounded at base 6. V. dictyophlebia. 



Heads smaller, the involucre 8 (rarely 10) mm. high or less. 

 Inflorescence of scorpioid cymes, the heads mostly sessile. 



Heads subtended by leafy bracts; involucre 1 cm. high. _ 7. V. schiedeana. 

 Heads not leafy-bracted; involucre 5 mm. high or less. 



Heads 11-flowered 8. V. aschenborniana. 



Heads 18 to 21-flowered. 



Leaves tomentulose or tomentose beneath. 



Pappus tawny; achenes pubescent, not glandular _._ 9. V. deppeana. 

 Pappus white or whitish; achenes pubescent and glandular. 



10. V. morelana. 

 Leaves puberulous to silky-pilose but not tomentose beneath. 



Pappus brownish; phyllaries obtuse or acutish 11. V. patens. 



Pappus white; phyllaries acute or acuminate 12. V. canescens. 



Inflorescence of corymbiform or paniculate clusters, the heads mostly pedi- 

 cellate. 

 Heads about 22-flowered; involucre 9 to 10 mm. high. . 13. V. karvinskiana. 



