Practical
Plants

Emilia coccinea

Tassel Flower

an annual member of the Emilia genus in the family Compositae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Genus
Emilia
Life cycle
annual
Height
0.6 m
Spread
0.3 m
Fertility
Self fertile, Insects
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Insects

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Leaves - raw or cooked[2]. Added to salads or used as a potherb[3].

Plant part
Leaves

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The plant is said to be used medicinally for children, but the report gives no more details[6].

Product or use
Miscellany

Environment

Range
Tropical Asia.
Habitat
Not known in a truly wild situation
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 9+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts[1][5]. The seed can also be sown outdoors in situ in the middle of spring[1][5].

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

An easily grown plant[1], succeeding in most well-drained soils in a sunny position[5]. An ideal plant for hot dry areas and coastal soils[4]. Plants flower better when growing on nutritionally poor soils, producing much lusher growth on rich soils[5]. They are drought tolerant once established[5]. Plants are not frost hardy, but succeed outdoors in Britain as a spring-sown annual[5]. Slugs can be a problem with this plant in a wet spring[5].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩

  3. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

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  4. Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7

    ↩

  5. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6↩7

  6. Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986-00-00

    ↩

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