Spilanthes

Plant Characteristics

Origin:	✈	?

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	?"?" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	?"?" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.

Scientific Names

Read about Spilanthes in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Spilanthes (Greek, meaning spot-flower, in reference to the markings on the disk in some of the species). Compositae. Herbs, mainly weeds, some of them desirable for outdoor planting, with opposite lvs.: rays yellow or whitish, or none: achenes nearly always flattened, biaristate or without bristles, glabrous or strongly ciliate, in the latter case quite distinct in appearance. There are about 40 species of Spilanthes, widely distributed in both hemispheres, mostly confined to warmer countries, or, in the New World, also occurring in the South Temperate zone; one variety native to Amer. Good technical characters for distinguishing the different forms are found in but few cases. The latest monograph is in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. 42, pp. 521-69. S. oleracea, Linn. (Tropics), is cult. for the pungent flavor of its lvs., used in salads; also, to a slight extent, as an ornamental, on account of its odd cylinder-like heads, in which the ratio of length to breadth is the greatest in the genus. Two types of it are named in the trade, Para cress and Brazil cress, the latter said more commonly to have a brownish cast to sts. and lvs. Gn. 22, p. 295. Gt. 2, p. 36. While most of the species are of inferior appearance, several are distinctly worth cultivating or possibly hybridizing for ornament. The principal ones are enumerated below; all but S. callimorpha belonging in the radiate section, Acmella, DC. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

Do you have cultivation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Propagation

Do you have propagation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Pests and diseases

Do you have pest and disease info on this plant? Edit this section!

Species

Read about Spilanthes in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

S. americana, Hieron., var. repens, A. H. Moore. One of the best of the showy members of the genus. Erect or weak, ascending, decumbent, or rarely prostrate: lvs. large for the genus: rays bright yellow. By selection the erect type could probably be made to predominate. A hybrid combining with this the handsome lvs. and red st. of S. phaneractis would be most pleasing, were it produceable. Sept. Mo., Ark., La. to Fla. and Texas. S. callimorpha, A. H. Moore. Decumbent or prostrate: lvs. long-acuminate; internodes long: rayless species, but of pleasing appearance. Yunnan Province, China. S. charitopsis, A. H. Moore. One of the dainty species; a fair companion-piece to S. iodiscaea, but with pale disks. Brazil. —S. filipes, Greenm. Erect plant with long internodes: small attractive heads. Yucatan, Mex. S. grisea, A. H. Moore. Lvs. densely hispidulous: rays large, very bright yellow. Paraguay. S. iodiscaea, A. H. Moore. A dainty little plant, with delicate green foliage: disk violet, the tiny rays creamy. Porto Rico. Though not quite so charming, S. charitopsis would be a pretty good companion. S. phaneractis, A. H. Moore. Decumbent or prostrate: sts. red: lvs. linear to linear-lanceolate: rays large, bright yellow. Known from states of Jalisco and Michoacan. Mex. One of the few very conspicuous-fld, species. S. poliolepidica, A. H. Moore. Erect: rays golden yellow: plants hairy. Costa Rica. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Gallery

If you have a photo of this plant, please upload it! Plus, there may be other photos available for you to add.

• 

  photo 1

• 

  photo 2

• 

  photo 3

References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Spilanthes. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Spilanthes QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)