INULA L.FALSE YELLOWHEAD

INULA L. - FALSE YELLOWHEAD

Scientific Description:

Mostly perennial herbs or subshrubs, but sometimes annual or biennial herbs. Stems erect or ascending, usually branched, plants rarely acaulous. Leaves entire to serrate, basal often petiolate. Capitula solitary or several, heterogamous, radiate or disciform, sometimes homogamous and discoid. Involucre hemispherical or campanulate; phyllaries pluriseriate, imbricate, herbaceous or somewhat scarious. Receptacle naked, flat or somewhat convex. Female flowers rarely completely absent, few or numerous in 1−2 series, tubular, oblique and 3-toothed at apex, or distinctly ligulate, yellow or orange. Disc flowers tubular, 5-lobed at apex, yellow. Achenes ± columnar or constricted at apex, angular or ribbed. Pappus hairs scabrous, barbellate or plumose, free or united at base, persistent.

Reference:
Grierson AJC (1975). Inula L., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 5: 54.

Public Description:

Inula is a genus of herbaceous annuals, perennials or subshrubs known as “false yellowhead” or “yellowhead”, and is native to Europe, Asia and Africa. There are approximately 110 species in the world and 28 species (33 taxa) in Türkiye. Inula species are used as food plants by the larvae of some moth and butterfly species. In traditional folk medicine, they are used in the treatment of respiratory and digestive system disorders, inflammatory conditions, dermatological and microbial diseases and cancer. In some scientific investigations, it has been shown that these plants, especially Inula oculus-christi L., show anti-cancer properties against some tumor cells.

References:

Anonymous 1 (2016). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inula/, Accessed date: 10.01.2016.

Anonymous 2 (2016). http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Compositae/Inula//, Accessed date: 10.01.2016.

Mosaddegh M., Ostad SN., Naghibi F., Moghadam MH. (2006). Cytotoxic Effects of Five Species of Inula Against Some Tumor Cell Lines. Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 2(4): 203-208.

Seca, A., Grigore, A., Pinto, D., Silva, A. (2014). The genus Inula and their metabolites: From ethnopharmacological to medicinal uses. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 154 (2): 286–310.

Aksoy A, Paksoy Y M (2012). Inula L. In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 174–176.