Dog's tongue (Pseudelephantopus spicatus)

Sandung or dog's-tongue (Pseudelephantopus spicatus) is a plant species in Asteraceae, perennial herbs, stems erect, 10-40 cm tall, inconspicuously ribbed, puberulous, grows wild on roadsides, open land and disturbed sites, often used to make brooms, animal feed and medicines.

P. spicatus has simple leaves, rosulate or alternate at base, 5-15 by 1.5-5 cm, obovate or oblanceolate, margin slightly serrate to entire, apex obtuse or rounded, base cuneate or attenuate and subcoriaceous. Upper surface puberulous without glands, lower surface puberulous with filiform hairs and capitate glands.

Lateral veins 9-15-paired. Petioles up to 2 cm long. Capitulescences terminal and axillary, capitula 1-4 aggregated in clusters supported by foliaceous bracts, clusters arranged in a spike. Capitula tubular, 14-17 mm long. Receptacle flat, 1-1.5 mm in diameters and glabrous.

Florets bisexual and fertile. Involucres oblong, in 2 series, 10-11 mm long. Phyllaries 8, decussate, light green, margin entire or piliferous and outer surface pilose without glands. The outer lanceolate and apicies acute. The inner ones obovate-lanceolate or oblong and apices acute.

Corollas salverform, white, zygomorphic and glabrous. Corolla tubes 5-9 mm long and corolla lobes 2.5-2.8 mm long. Anthers 1.5-2 mm long, apical appendage acute, base acute. Styles white, 5-9 mm long, branches ca. 2 mm long, inner surface covered with stigmatic papillae.

Achenes clavate, 4-5 mm long, pubescent with densely twin hairs, without glands, 10-ribbed. Pappus in 1 series, often of 2 sizes and bent at the tip, bristles 6-9, 2-6 mm long.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Cichorioideae
Tribe: Vernonieae
Subtribe: Elephantopinae
Genus: Pseudelephantopus
Species: Pseudelephantopus spicatus

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