Pseudelephantopus spicatus

Common Name: dogstongue

Family: Asteraceae

Common Synonyms: Elephantopus spicatus

USDA Hardiness Zone: NA

Growth Habit: Perennial herb

Origin: Tropical America

FISC Category: -

FDACS Listed Noxious Weed: No

Introduction Date: Earliest herbarium record from Florida in 1965

IFAS Assessment:

• North: OK
• Central: OK
• South: OK

Description

Herb 40-100 cm tall, rootstock creeping. Stems erect, branched, tough. Leaves subsessile, slightly clasping the stem, variable in size. Lower leaves oblong-obovate or oblong-spatulate, 7-20 cm by 1-5 cm, bottom especially hirtellous on veins and densely glandular, top scabrid, sparsely scabrid hairy or subglabrous and glandular, base attenuate, margin entire or remotely serrate, apex obtuse or shortly acute. Upper leaves oblong-lanceolate, 2.5-11.5 cm by 0.5-1.5 cm, attenuate at both ends. Inflorescence arranged in terminal spikes. Flower heads in clusters, 4 florets per head.Floret corolla white, subtubular, lobes 5, lanceolate. Achenes linear-oblong, ca. 6 mm long, 10-ribbed, densely setose, glandular between ribs (Flora of China).

Habitat

Disturbed hammocks

Comments

NA

Control Methods

• Manual: NA
• Chemical: Sensitive to picloram and dicamba, moderately so to triclopyr and metsulfuron (Motooka, et al).
• Biological: NA

Control Notes

NA

References

Flora of China. Volume 20-21, page 369. http://efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=126936. Accessed on June 20, 2014.

Motooka, P. et al. 2003. Pseudelephantopus spicatus in Weeds of Hawaiis Pastures and Natural Areas, An Identification and Management Guide.NAhttp://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/invweed/WeedsHI/W_Elephantopus_ spicatus.pdf. Accessed on June 23, 2014.