''Vernonia galamensis'' is a plant in the sunflower family, known for its use as an

oilseed Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or f ...

. This species, often called ironweed, is the largest source of vernonia oil, which is rich in a useful epoxy

fatty acid In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, ...

called vernolic acid and is used to make plastics, rubbery coatings, and drying agents. Use of this oil as a replacement for traditional

plasticizer A plasticizer ( UK: plasticiser) is a substance that is added to a material to make it softer and more flexible, to increase its plasticity, to decrease its viscosity, and/or to decrease friction during its handling in manufacture. Plasticiz ...

s and binders in the production of paints and PVC shows promise as a method of reducing smog pollution. One of over 1,000 species in genus ''

Vernonia ''Vernonia'' is a genus of about 350 species of forbs and shrubs in the Daisy family Asteraceae. Some species are known as ironweed. Some species are edible and of economic value. They are known for having intense purple flowers. There have been ...

'', ''V. galamensis'' is native to East Africa. It is grown in the region as an industrial oilseed. Its seed production is poor when it is grown outside of the equatorial region, so cultivation in other places is not always economically worthwhile; however, further studies in the breeding of this species to generate more productive varieties may show promise. It requires loose, porous soil and long periods of dry conditions. It is grown in many parts of Ethiopia, especially around the city of

Harar Harar ( amh, ሐረር; Harari: ሀረር; om, Adare Biyyo; so, Herer; ar, هرر) known historically by the indigenous as Gey (Harari: ጌይ ''Gēy'', ) is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saint ...

, with an average seed yield of 2 to 2.5 t/ha. It is reported that the Ethiopian strains of ''Vernonia'' have the highest oil content, up to 41.9% with up to 80%

vernolic acid Vernolic acid (leukotoxin) is a long chain fatty acid that is monounsaturated and contains an epoxide. It is the R,R-''cis'' epoxide derived from the C12–C13 alkene of linoleic acid. Vernolic acid was first definitively characterized in 1954. I ...

, and is used in paint formulations, coatings plasticizers, and as a reagent for many industrial chemicals."Alamata Pilot Learning Site Diagnosis and Program Design"
IPMS Information Resources Portal - Ethiopia (23 June 2005), p. 12 (accessed 3 March 2009) ''Vernonia galamensis'' is a daisylike annual which is quite variable in appearance between individual plants. It produces a flower which may be blue or purple, with long petals surrounding a center made up of shorter petals called florets. The center is filled with seeds, some of which may have a hairy tuft called a pappus. Depending on environmental conditions the plant may be squat and shrubby or extremely tall. It may send out few stems, each with one flower, or many stems with bunches of flowers. When not found in cultivation, the plant may be found growing wild, often as a weed which invades disturbed areas and rangeland. A number of insects feed on the plant. Species of the moth genus '' Indent'' are sometimes known as vernonia worms due to their preference for ''Vernonia'' plants as food. There are several subspecies: *''Vernonia galamensis galamensis'' *''Vernonia galamensis nairobensis'' *''Vernonia galamensis lushotoensis'' *''Vernonia galamensis mutomoensis'' *''Vernonia galamensis afromontana'' *''Vernonia galamensis gibbosa''

References

External links

Purdue ''V. galamensis'' resources
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3556010 galamensis Flora of East Tropical Africa Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa Flora of West Tropical Africa Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa Vegetable oils Crops originating from Ethiopia