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Emilia sonchifolia

lilac tasselflower

Attracts Pollinators Attracts Butterflies Container Friendly

SunFull Sun – Part Shade

Overview

Emilia sonchifolia is an erect annual herb in the aster family (Asteraceae), reaching 8-28 inches (20-70 cm) tall on slender, sparingly branched stems that are often tinged purple and lightly covered with a waxy bloom. The leaves vary along the stem: lower ones are lyre-shaped with a large terminal lobe and clasp the stem with ear-like bases, while upper leaves are smaller, narrow, and stalkless. Both surfaces are smooth to thinly hairy and somewhat grayish. The flower heads contain only disk florets, with no spreading rays, and are gathered in loose terminal clusters held well above the foliage on long, naked stalks. Each head is urn-shaped, 0.3-0.5 inch (8-13 mm) long, the protruding florets ranging from pinkish-lilac to magenta or reddish. Flowering is followed by small dark achenes topped with soft white bristles that carry the seed on the wind. The plant completes its cycle in one season and self-sows readily. Leaves and stems contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which can cause cumulative liver damage if eaten in quantity over time, though young shoots are cooked and eaten as a leaf vegetable in parts of Asia and Africa.

Native Range

Emilia sonchifolia is native to tropical Asia. It has spread as a naturalized weed throughout the tropics and subtropics worldwide, including the southeastern United States, the Pacific islands, Africa, and tropical America.

Suggested Uses

This species is rarely planted and is encountered mainly as a warm-climate weed of fields, gardens, roadsides, and waste ground. The young leaves are gathered as a cooked potherb in parts of Asia and Africa, and the plant appears in several regional traditional medicine systems. In a reference context it represents the tassel-flowered Emilia spp. group of the Asteraceae.

How to Identify

Identification rests on rayless, urn-shaped flower heads of pinkish-lilac to magenta florets held on long, bare stalks above the leaves. The lower leaves are lyre-shaped and clasp the stem with rounded, ear-like bases, while the stems often carry a purplish tint and a faint waxy bloom. White-bristled achenes and the absence of ray florets separate it from daisy-like composites of the same weedy ground.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height8" - 2'4"

Width/Spread4" - 1'

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~20 weeks

Spring Summer Fall

In frost-free regions Emilia sonchifolia flowers almost year-round, while in seasonal climates bloom concentrates from late spring through fall. The lilac to magenta heads open over a long succession on each branched cluster. Wind-dispersed seed ripens continuously alongside the flowers.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

pinkish-lilac to magenta

Foliage Description

grayish-green, often purple-tinged

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun SunPartial Shade

Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.0 - 7.0(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

loam sand clay

Drainagewell drained

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Medium

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Emilia sonchifolia grows in full sun to light shade and adapts to most soils, from sand to clay loam, with steady moisture supporting the fastest growth. It germinates with warmth and damp soil, establishes quickly in disturbed or cultivated ground, and tolerates poor fertility. In the tropics it persists wherever bare soil opens up, behaving as a ruderal colonizer. It needs no irrigation or feeding where it grows naturally and is more often pulled as a weed than planted. Removing plants before the bristly seed forms is the main way to limit its rapid spread.