Soft Elephantsfoot

Elephantopus hypomalacus Blake, Contr. Gray Herb 52:20. 1917. Stems erect, branched above, 5-8 dm. tall, pilose or hispid; leaves chiefly cauline, the blades broadly obovate to oblong-obovate, 10-20 cm. long, 4-9 cm. wide, acute, serrate with low teeth, attenuate at base, dark-green and thinly papillose-pilose above, densely and softly pubescent, especially along the veins, and resinous-dotted beneath, reticulately veined; glomerules numerous, 10 mm. high; bracts 2-4, ovate, acute or mucronate, reticulately veined; involucre 8 mm. high, the scales acuminate, scarious-margined, papillose-pilose; achenes 3.5 mm. long, sharply ribbed, pilose; pappus-bristles 4-5 mm. long, gradually dilated below to a triangular base about twice as long as wide.
Type locality: Orotina, Costa Rica, alt. about 180 meters. Distribution: Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.

Elephantopus mollis H.B.K. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 4: 26. 1818
Stems erect, freely branched above, 3-10 dm. high, pilose or hirsute; leaf-blades firm,
dull-green, oblong to obovate or broadly elliptic, 8-15 cm. long, 3-6 cm. wide, acute, crenate,
narrowed at base into a winged petiole, thinly pilose or scabrellate above, resinous-dotted
and softly and closely pubescent beneath, especially on the veins; glomerules about 10 mm.
high, mostly exceeding the triangular-cordate hirsute bracts; involucral scales thinly strigose,
sharply acuminate; achenes minutely pilose, 3 mm. long; pappus-bristles 4 mm. long, dilated
below into a triangular base at least half as wide as long.
Type locality: Venezuela.
Distribution: Cuba and Mexico, and south into tropical South America.

Perennial herbs, 0.5-2.0 m tall. Stems caulescent, erect or procumbent, terete, inconspicuously ribbed, pilose. Leaves alternate, 10–20 by 3–5 cm, elliptic or oblong, margin crenate, apex acute, base attenuate, subcoriaceous; both surfaces sparsely pilose with filiform hairs, cylindrical hairs and capitate glands; lateral veins 10–16-paired; petioles up to 10 mm long. Capitulescences terminal and axillary, paniculate. Foliose bracts 3, deltoid. Capitula tubular, 7–8 mm long. Receptacle flat, ca. 1 mm in diam., glabrous. Involucres tubular, 6.5–8 mm long, 3–4 mm in diam. Phyllaries 8, in 2 series, decussate, light green, margin entire, outer surface puberulous, without glands; the outer ovate, apex acute; the inner ones lanceolate, apex acuminate. Florets 4; corollas white, zygomorphic, glabrous; corolla tubes slender, 3–5 mm long; corolla lobes bilabiate, 1.5–2 mm long. Anthers ca. 1 mm long, apical appendage acute, base rounded. Styles white, 4–5 mm long, branches ca. 1 mm long. Achenes clavate, 2.5–3 mm long, pubescent, densely covered with twin hairs but lacking glands, inconspicuously ribbed. Pappus of 5 bristles in one series, dilated at base, 2.5–4.5 mm long.

Thailand: Nakhon Ratchasima; Ubon Ratchathani, Satun, Songkhla. Pantropics.

Elephantopus mollis, common names tobacco weed, and soft elephantsfoot, is a tropical species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.

Elephantopus mollis is native to South America as far south as Jujuy Province in Argentina, as well as the West Indies, Central America, and Mexico as far north as Tamaulipas and Nuevo León. It is also naturalized in Australia, south-eastern Asia, some Pacific Islands, and tropical Africa. The species is considered a noxious weed some places.

Elephantopus mollis is a coarse perennial herb up to 20 cm (8 inches) tall. Leaves are dark green on the upper side, lighter green on the lower surface, oblanceolate to elliptical, up to 22 cm (9 inches) long. The plant produces arrays of small flower heads, each with only 4 white or pink florets.