''Elephantopus carolinianus'', with the common names Carolina elephantsfoot or leafy elephant's foot, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

family. It is native to the south-central and southeastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Description

''Elephantopus carolinianus'' is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb sometimes as much as 120 cm (4 feet) tall. Leaves are elliptic or ovate to lanceolate, up to 12 cm (5 inches) long, larger toward the base of the plant and decreasing in size moving up the stem. The leaves are darker on the upper side than they are on the lower side and are lightly hairy. They are alternate along the stem, becoming spaced farther apart higher on the stem. At the plant's base, the leaves are very close together, as close as apart. The plant produces numerous small

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

in a tight cluster, each head generally containing only 4-5 florets. The cluster of flower heads is supported by 3

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

that resemble leaves and are long. The lavender, or sometimes white, flowers bloom August to October.Flora of North America, ''Elephantopus carolinianus'' Raeuschel, Nomencl. Bot. ed. 3. 256. 1797.
/ref> Flowers last for one day.

Etymology

The genus name ''Elephantopus'' comes from the Greek words "elephantos" (elephant) and "pous" (foot). The term likely refers to the large basal leaves of some members of the genus.

Distribution and habitat

The plant is native to the south-central and southeastern United States from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

north as far as

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, west to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. It grows in open or shaded pine forests and mixed forests, with generally damp to wet soil, often sandy.

Ecology

The plant is the larval host for the '' Cremastobombycia ignota'' moth.

References

External links

Photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in MissouriPhoto by Gerrit Davidse, showing close-up of flowersPhoto by Gerrit Davidse, showing habit
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15582471 Vernonieae Plants described in 1797 Flora of the United States