Launaea

Keys in BSI Flora of India:

1a. Leaves with white cartilaginous teeth 2
b. Leaves without white cartilaginous teeth 3
2a. Achenes winged 3. Launaea capitata
b. Achenes not winged 6. Launaea procumbens
3a. Leaves spinous margined; heads often solitary 4
b. Leaves not spinous margined; heads solitary or fascicled or in racemose 5
4a. Achenes scaberulous on the ribs 7. Launaea resedifolia
b. Achenes smooth on the ribs 5. Launaea polyclada
5a. Peduncle ebracteate, achenes longer than the pappus 4. Launaea microcephala
b. Peduncle bracteolate; achenes equal to or shorter than the pappus 6
6a. Plants, dwarf leaves chiefly radical 1. Launaea acaulis
b. Leaves radical as well as cauline, plants reaching to 1 m high 7
7a. Heads terminal on the paniculately branched flowering stems 2. Launaea aspleniifolia
b. Heads on sparingly forked branches, solitary or more or less fascicled or subsessile racemose or the flowering stems or it’s branches 8
8a. Stems rooting from the nodes; flowering branches many; achenes much aborter than the pappus 8. Launaea sarmentosa
b. Stems not rooting from the nodes, flowering branches solitary; achenes equalling the pappus 9. Launaea secunda

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As per efi thread:

Bengal Plants describes 3 plants :-
  1. Heads terminal, or racemose…. margins of leaves with few or no teeth; teeth if present not cartilaginous at tips —— L. aspleniifolia
  2. Heads terminal, or racemose…. margins of leaves closely, sharply toothed, the teeth white, firm and cartilaginous at the tips —— L. nudicaulis (Launaea nudicaulis auct. (India) non. L. nudicaulis (L.) Hook.f. sensu stricto (Syn. of Launaea procumbens))
  3. Heads solitary or fascicled at the nodes of the flagelliform, rooting flowering stem —– L. pinnatifida (syn. of Launaea sarmentosa (Willd.) Alston);
Launaea acaulis (Roxb.) Kerr (Images by (Anurag Sharma – Id by J.M.Garg), (N Arun – Id by J.M.Garg & Surajit Koley), Santhan P & (Prashant Awale – Id by Girish Kumar & Vijayasankar Raman), (For more photos & complete details, click on the links))

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Launaea asplenifolia Hook.f.

Images by Gurcharan Singh & Surajit Koley (For more photos & complete details, click on the links)

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Launaea procumbens (Roxb.) Ramayya & Rajagopal (Bahrain, Egypt (Eastern Desert), Iran (E-Iran, S-Iran, W-Iran), Iraq (NW-Iraq, SE-Iraq: Mesopotamia, S-Iraq, W-Iraq: Desert), Kuwait, Oman (Mascat & Oman), Saudi Arabia (NE-Saudi Arabia, Hejaz, Asir), Sinai peninsula (S-Sinai), Yemen (Aden Desert, coastal Hadhramaut, SW-Yemen), Afghanistan (Baghlan, Farah, Helmand, Herat, Jawzjan / Sar-e-Pol, Kandahar, Kunar / Nuristan, Nangarhar, Nimroz, Paktia / Khost, Takhar), Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, China (Gansu, Nei Mongol, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Yunnan), Pakistan (Karachi, Sind, Baluchistan, Waziristan, Kurram, N.W.Frontier Prov., Hazara, Pakistani Punjab), Jammu & Kashmir (Jammu), India (widespread, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu), Nepal, Myanmar [Burma] as per CoL)

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Launaea sarmentosa (Willd.) Sch.Bip. ex Kuntze (Distributed mainly in sand dunes of coastal areas) (South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal, E-Cape Prov.), Mozambique, Australia (costal NW-Western Australia), Java, Sri Lanka, Seychelles (I), Mauritius (I), La Runion (I), Madagascar, China (Guangdong, ?Guangxi, Hainan), Andamans (South Andamans, Little Andaman Isl.), Nicobars (Car Nicobar Isl., Central Nicobars), Myanmar [Burma] (Rakhine, Taninthayi), India (Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Gujarat), Laccadives, Pakistan (Sind), Thailand, Vietnam, Lakshadweep Isl. (Laccadives), Maldives, Bangladesh as per CoL)

 (Images by (Harshad Pandit – Id by Girish Kumar), (Balasubramanya Sharma – Id by Mahadeswara Swamy & Surajit Koley), Dinesh Valke & Prashant Awale, (For more photos & complete details, click on the links))

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Launaea secunda (C.B.Clarke) Hook.f. (Himalayan species with characteristic nearly leafless stem and heads in one sided racemes)
(Afghanistan (Jawzjan / Sar-e-Pol, Kunar / Nuristan, Nangarhar, Paktia / Khost), Pakistan (Kurram, Swat, Hazara, Pakistani Punjab), Jammu & Kashmir (Poonch, Kashmir), India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh), Nepal as per Catalogue of Life)

(Images by Saroj Kumar Kasaju (Id assistance by Nidhan Singh) (Inserted by J.M.Garg) (For more images & complete details, click on the links))

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BSI Flora of India with keys Volume 12 (Distribution):

Name Taxon Type Volume Distribution
Launaea acaulis Species 12 India: On open dry slopes, fields and waste lands up to 1000 m. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, W. Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh; Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and Iran
Launaea aspleniifolia Species 12 India: On slopes as well as fields and wastelands, up to 1500 m, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, W. Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands; Nepal and Pakistan
Launaea capitata Species 12 India: In sandy loamy soils, wastelands and cultivated fields, 300-800 m. Punjab and Rajasthan; Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Egypt and Africa
Launaea microcephala Species 12 India: W. Himalayas on exposed slopes in higher elevations, 3000-3500 m. Jammu & Kashmir
Notes. There are no specimens of this species at CAL, DD & BSD, nor we could collect this.
Launaea polyclada Species 12 India: W. Himalayas on exposed moist slopes, 1000-3000 m. Jammu & Kashmir; Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and C.I.S.
Notes. Distribution of this species in Indian geographical boundary seems to be doubtful. There is no specimen available in any herbacia in India
Launaea procumbens Species 12 India: In fields, marshy places and wastelands, 1100-1800 m. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia, Egypt and Iran
Launaea resedifolia Species 12 India: Wastelands and cultivated fields between 300-1500 m. Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan; Pakistan
Launaea sarmentosa Species 12 India: Near sandy river banks and waste-lands between 200-800 m. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil nadu, W. Bengal, Gujarat and Lakshadweep; Pakistan
Launaea secunda Species 12 India: W. Himalayas on open dry and shady slopes 1500-3000 m. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh; Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal
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FLOWERING PLANTS OF INDIA, DICOTYLEDONS, Vol-I (Acanthaceae-Avicenniaceae) authored by S. Karthikeyan, M. Sanjappa and S. Moorthy and published by BSI, Kolkata in 2009 is an important document for names, authority and distribution of Asteraceae species in India.
As per this document (Karthikeyan et al., 2009) following species of Launaea occur in India (Distribution):
  1. Launaea acaulis (Roxb.) Babc. ex Kerr
  2. L. aspleniifolia (Willd.) Hook.f.
  3. L. capitata (Spreng.) Dandy 
  4. L. intybacea (Jacq.) Beauverd
  5. L. microcephala Hook.f.
  6. L. polyclada (Boiss.) Burkill
  7. L. resedifolia (L.) Druce
  8. L. sarmentosa (Willd.) Sch. Bip. ex Kuntze
  9. L. secunda (Royle ex C.B. Clarke) Hook.f.
Scrutiny of these names in The Plant List Ver. 1.1 indicate that these are either accepted names or unresolved. 
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Binomial Habit Notes Ref. Distrib.
Launaea acaulis (Roxb.) Babc. ex Kerr Herb Western Ghats,
Naturalized, Native of Tropical America		 Flora of Tamil
Nadu, VOL. II, 1987		 Dindigul,
Theni, Nilgiri, Tirunelveli, Virudhu nagar
Launaea intybacea (Jacq.) Beauv. Herb Dry
Evergreen to Dry Deciduous Forests		 Flora
of Tamil Nadu, VOL. II, 1987		 Coimbatore,
Cuddalore, Dharmapuri,  Dindigul,  Kanchee puram, Madurai, Ramanatha puram,  Thiruvallur, Tiruchchira ppalli,
Tirunelveli, Viluppuram
Launaea procumbens (Roxb.) Ramayya &
Rajagopal		 Herb Plains, Dry Localities Flora
of Tamil Nadu, VOL. II, 1987		 Coimbatore,
Tirunelveli, T
Launaea sarmentosa (Willd.) Sch.-Bip. ex
Kuntze		 Trailing
Herb		 Sandy Localities Flora
of Tamil Nadu, VOL. II, 1987		  Kanchee puram, Madurai, Salem,
Thiruvallur 
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Launaea chondrilloides HOOK. (Launaea chondrilloides Hook.f.is a synonym of Launaea fragilis (Asso) Pau)
 
 
 
 
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Botanical name Synonyms Family Common name
Launaea procumbens Asteraceae Creeping Launaea
Launaea sarmentosa Launaea pinnatifida Asteraceae Beach Launaea
Launaea secunda Chondrilla secunda Asteraceae Himalayan Launaea
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Flora of Madhya Pradesh: Chhatarpur and Damoh By G. P. Roy, B. K. Shukla, Bhaskar – Details-
Launaea nudicaulis auct. (India) non. L. nudicaulis (L.) Hook.f. sensu stricto (Syn. of Launaea procumbens) 

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Flora of Eastern Karnataka, Volume 1  By N. P. Singh (Description & Keys–

Launaea procumbens &

Launaea intybacea)

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Launaea : 3 posts by 2 authors.

I have updated eFI (efloraofindia) page on Launaea

Attempts have been made to incorporate most of the species available in India & nearby areas with details & keys directly or through links as far as possible. It’s quite possible that there may be some discrepancy in the accepted names & synonyms taken from other links.

Species discussed so far in efloraofindia are given at the bottom of the page in the form of links against Subpages. On clicking them one can see all the details.

If someone can provide complete list of Indian species with source references it will be wonderful.

Any comments/ corrections are welcome.

I have added list of Launaea species in India based on Karhikeyan 2009.

Thanks a lot, …. I have made a little correction as Launaea polyclada (Boiss.) Burkill is an accepted name as per The Plant List version 1.1.  I hope it’s OK. We now have to follow The Plant List version 1.1 as it has superseded the earlier The Plant List of 2010.

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Pl. go through Launaea page (‎‎‎‎Asteraceae (Compositae)‎) with images of species in efloraofindia (done by …). If you find any mis-identification, pl. let us know. If anybody can send images of other species of this genera (for incorporation in the website), it will be really nice. Also, if anybody is interested to take up the activity of inserting images on efloraofindia pages from efloraofindia posts, pl. let us know.