About Cyanthillium cinereum (L.) H.Rob.
Cyanthillium cinereum (L.) H.Rob. is a species in the sunflower family, known by a number of common names: it is called little ironweed in English, poovamkurunnal or poovamkurunnila in Malayalam, monara kudumbiya in Sinhalese, and Sahadevi. It is a special medicinal plant used in Ayurveda. Prior to a taxonomic update before early 2014, this species was scientifically named Vernonia cinerea. The species is native to tropical Africa and tropical Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Indonesia, and more, and has become naturalized in Australia, Mesoamerica, tropical South America, the West Indies, and the US state of Florida. It grows mostly in warm and humid regions. Cyanthillium cinereum grows as an annual herb up to 120 cm (4 feet) tall, with green, shiny leaves. It produces flat-topped arrays of numerous flower heads; each flower head has pinkish or purplish, or alternatively white or light purple, disc florets and no ray florets. This species can be confused with Emilia sonchifolia, but E. sonchifolia has much longer, vase-shaped flower bracts. Cyanthillium cinereum has been used for smoking cessation in Thailand and other countries, as a relief for the common cold, and naturally helps boost the body's immune system.
