Botanical Name: Emilia coccinea
Family: Asteraceae
Order: Asterales
Genus: Emilia
Class: Magnoliopsida
Subclass: Magnoliids
Synonyms: E. flammea. Cass. Cacalia coccinea. C. sagittata.
Common Names: Tassel Flower, Scarlet tasselflower
Habitat: Emilia coccinea is native to Tropical Asia.It is 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.
Description:
Emilia coccinear is an erect, annual plant with few or no branches, growing 20 – 100cm tall.Basal and lower leaves shortly petiolate; involucres broad-cylindrical to hemispherical, corollas moderately to well-exserted; corollas lobes 1.1-2.2 mm; disk floret styles obviously appendiculate, appendages 0.2-0.3 mm, caudate. It is in flower from July to October, and the seeds ripen from August to Oct.
Cultivation:
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 lusher growth on rich soils. They are drought tolerant once established. Plants are not frost hardy, but succeed outdoors in Britain as a spring-sown annual. Slugs can be a problem with this plant in a wet spring.
The plant is sometimes gathered from the wild and used locally for food and medicines. It is often grown as an ornamental in gardens.
Propagation:
Through seeds – 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.
Edible Uses: Leaves are edible,eaten – raw or cooked. Added to salads or used as a potherb.
Medicinal Uses:
Emilia coccinea is widely used in folkloric medicine for eye and ear ailments as well as for fever. This present study evaluated the preliminary and quantitative phytochemical properties of E. coccinea leaves using standard procedures. The results revealed the following bioactive compounds Flavonoids (0.90 ± 0.02), Alkaloids (0.94 ± 0.03), Tannins (10.36 ± 0.02), Saponins (2.34 ± 0.02), Oxalate (1.62 ± 0.01), Phenols (0.89 ± 0.02), Terpenoids (0.11 ± 0.01). The high concentration of tannin and moderate concentration of other phytochemical proved that E. coccinea can serve as a vital medicinal plant that could be used for pharmaceutical formulations.
Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320676337_Evaluation_of_phytochemical_contents_of_Emilia_coccinea_leaves
https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Emilia+coccinea
