Kindly help ID this Asteraceae member from Srinagar

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Dear members,

Am attaching  photos of a weed that is  common here. Request help in its identification.

Habitat : Wild. Growing in a field in Rawathpora Srinagar.

Habit: Herb 1-2 m high. Inflorescence seems to be a capitulum  (2mm dia)with only disc florets. Tiny white bifid styles project outwards  and may serve to attract  insects. Leaves very dissected and ferny. Photos taken on 8 and 9 September.

All photos in this and my other posts are under CC-License(Attribution only needed)

Regards

Taffazull

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Could it be Artemisia indica ?

On crushing the leaves I found them to be aromatic though they they do not smell as strongly as wormwood also a common weed here. 

Also unlike wormwood ( A.absinthium) it is an annual and the leaves too are not bitter in taste.

Regards

Taffazull

[taffa...@gmail.com]

In my previous post I had wrongly written that there are only disc florets. I have since come upon a paper regarding closely related A.annua:

Floral Morphology and Floral Sequence in Artemesia annua(2014) Hazel.Y.Wetzstein et al   Amer.Jr.Bot 101 (5) 875-885.

According to this paper outer florets are pistillate ray florets. So the florets with thick styles are ray florets. Inner disc florets are hermaphroditic I could also not see anthers. According to this paper the  anthers fuse and form a tube around the style(not visible from outside).The paper also mentions presence of glandular trichomes on corolla and other parts which produce artemisinin a critical antimalarial drug. I could also see these glands (see photos).

If this species also produces artemisinin then it is of great economic importance. It would be nice if the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine situated very near Rawathpora and the Botany Dept Of Kashmir University make an intensive study of this interesting plant which if exploited could be of great economic value as malaria is widespread in India and hence there is demand for the antimalarial drug.

Regards

Taffazull

[J.M. Garg]

I think looks different from images at 
https://efloraofindia.com/2015/01/13/artemisia-indica/

Also could not find a match as per comparative images at 
https://efloraofindia.com/2011/02/07/artemisia/

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With regards,
J.M.Garg

[taffa...@gmail.com]

One more photo:

Magnified view of a Capitulum. Thick bifid styles of outer ( Pistillate, Ray florets?) are prominent. Styles of inner ( hermaphrodite disc florets?) not prominent.

Photo taken today only on 18th September

Regards

[J.M. Garg]

Forwarding again for Id assistance please.

Some earlier relevant feedback:

Could it be Artemisia indica ? On crushing the leaves I found them to be aromatic though they they do not smell as strongly as wormwood also a common weed here.  Also unlike wormwood ( A.absinthium) it is an annual and the leaves too are not bitter in taste. Regards Taffazull

In my previous post I had wrongly written that there are only disc florets. I have since come upon a paper regarding closely related A.annua:

Floral Morphology and Floral Sequence in Artemesia annua(2014) Hazel.Y.Wetzstein et al   Amer.Jr.Bot 101 (5) 875-885. According to this paper outer florets are pistillate ray florets. So the florets with thick styles are ray florets. Inner disc florets are hermaphroditic I could also not see anthers. According to this paper the  anthers fuse and form a tube around the style(not visible from outside).The paper also mentions presence of glandular trichomes on corolla and other parts which produce artemisinin a critical antimalarial drug. I could also see these glands (see photos). If this species also produces artemisinin then it is of great economic importance. It would be nice if the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine situated very near Rawathpora and the Botany Dept Of Kashmir University make an intensive study of this interesting plant which if exploited could be of great economic value as malaria is widespread in India and hence there is demand for the antimalarial drug. Regards Taffazull

I think looks different from images at

https://efloraofindia.com/2015/01/13/artemisia-indica/ Also could not find a match as per comparative images at

https://efloraofindia.com/2011/02/07/artemisia/- from me

One more photo: Magnified view of a Capitulum. Thick bifid styles of outer ( Pistillate, Ray florets?) are prominent. Styles of inner ( hermaphrodite disc florets?) not prominent. Photo taken today only on 18th September Regards

Taffazull

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With regards,
J.M.Garg

[J.M. Garg]

Hi, Taffazull ji,

What are the species listed in Srinagar ?

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With regards,
J.M.Garg

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Dear Garg ji

I do not really know it

Gurcharan ji might guide us in this matter as he has done considerable work on Srinagar flora.

Regards

Taffazull

[J.M. Garg]

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With regards,
J.M.Garg

[J.M. Garg]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: J.M. Garg <jmg...@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 22 Sept 2023 at 17:11
Subject: Fwd: [efloraofindia:454691] Kindly help ID this Asteraceae member from Srinagar
To: efloraofindia <indian...@googlegroups.com>
Cc: TAFA <taffa...@gmail.com>

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With regards,
J.M.Garg

[Tabish]

This looks like Ambrosia artemisiifolia, a naturalized species in India.

   Tabish

-------------------------------------------
www.flowersofindia.net
The waterhole of flower lovers

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Dear Tabish ji,

Thanks for the suggestion.

Leaves are very similar but the following features are puzzling when when I do an image search for Ambrosia artemisiifolia on Google

1. Stems are nowhere as hairy as in google images.

2.In google images the capitula all point downwards but in my plant they all point upwards.(Please see attached photo)

3.In my plant the florets are of two distinct types. Outer florets with thick white bifid styles projecting out forming a white ring. I could not see such projecting bifid styles in outer florets on google images.( Please see my photos in previous posts).

4.Inflorescence seems to be of a different type from that in google images,

5.Some Google images show deep yellow flowers(Hence the name ragweed ) but I have never seen this weed with such yellow flowers. If I ever see it I will  post the photos here.

Gurcharan ji has posted A.artemisiifolia from Canada in October 2019 on EFI so he could kindly shed more light on this.

Regards

Taffazull

[J.M. Garg]

Thanks, Taffazull ji

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With regards,
J.M.Garg

[Saroj Kasaju]

Please check Artemisia tournefortiana Rchb. !

Thank you.

Saroj Kasaju

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[taffa...@gmail.com]

Dear Saroj ji,

Thanks for the suggestion

I think ID is very plausible. FOC mentions pistillate florets and glands

Request opinion from experts in the field.

Regards

Taffazull

[Saroj Kasaju]

OK Dr. Taffazull !

Thank you.

Saroj Kasaju

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[J.M. Garg]

Thanks, Miroslav ji

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With regards,
J. M. Garg

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Miroslav Dvorský <>
Date: Thu, 5 Oct, 2023, 18:55
Subject: Re: [efloraofindia:454691] Kindly help ID this Asteraceae member from Srinagar
To: J.M. Garg <jmg...@gmail.com>

This is Artemisia tournefortiana Rchb., a common weedy annual.

With regards, 

Miroslav

st 4. 10. 2023 v 7:03 odesílatel J.M. Garg <jmg...@gmail.com> napsal:

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Miroslav Dvorský

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Dear Miroslav ji

Thanks for confirming

Regards

Taffazull

[Saroj Kasaju]

Thank you Mr. Dvorsky for validating my ID !

Saroj Kasaju

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/indiantreepix/dd35a759-2692-400c-87d7-47e900ce2880n%40googlegroups.com.