• Family : ASTERACEAE
  (ASTER or SUNFLOWER FLOWER)
• Family (as per The Plant List) : Compositae
• Species : Gnaphalium polycaulon
• Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Gnaphalium polycaulon Pers.
• Common name : Ash herb
• Vernacular name : Saambapachchai (Tam.)
• Key identification features : A slender, white, wooly herb. Heads heterogamous, in terminal spikes, not rayed and yellow-white in colour. Stamens 5, 5-lobed. Pappus 10, uniseriate, white hairs exceeding the florets.
• Habit : Herb
• Flower, Fruit : November-May
• Comments : On hills as a weed of cultivation. Sometimes abundant in fallow fields and in clayey soil.
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Distribution Locality : Sankaranmalai Hills (Karur district), Alagar Hills (Madurai district), Sirumalai Hills (Dindigul district) (Tamil Nadu State); Chandragiri Hills (Chittoor district), Srikakulam district, West Godavari district (Andhra Pradesh State); Similipal Hills (Mayurbhanj district), Koraput district, Ganjam district (Odisha State)
• World Distribution : Pantropical
• Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2007 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 3; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 2 ; R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District ; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District ; H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipal, Orissa; K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983.
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Arun Singh R., Deepak Kumar, Raja K Swamy and Navendu Page (2016). Digital Flora of Eastern Ghats. http://easternghats.ces.iisc.ernet.in/plants.php?name=Gnaphalium polycaulon. Downloaded on 21 November 2024.

Description

Field Images