Emilia is a genus of annual and short-lived perennial herbaceous plants in the family Asteraceae (the daisy or sunflower family), order Asterales. It is commonly known as tasselflower or pualele (the Hawaiian name). The genus was described by the French botanist Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Cassini, published in 1817–1819 in Bulletin des Sciences de la Société Philomathique de Paris and Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles.
Plants in Emilia are typically erect to scrambling herbs with alternate leaves and solitary or loosely clustered discoid flower heads bearing florets in shades of red, orange, or yellow — the small, tassel-like heads giving rise to the common name. Unlike many Asteraceae genera, the flower heads of Emilia lack ray florets (they are entirely tubular/disc), giving a soft, brushy appearance. The pappus is white and feathery, facilitating wind dispersal.
The genus encompasses around 100 or more accepted species depending on the checklist authority; the GBIF/POWO circumscription lists approximately 215 infraspecific and specific taxa. Members are distributed primarily in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Asia, with several species widely naturalized across the Pacific Islands, the Americas, and other warm regions as ruderal weeds. Some species previously placed in the related genus Cacalia have been moved in or out of Emilia as taxonomic understanding has evolved.
Etymology
The name Emilia was given by Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Cassini when he described the genus in 1817–1819. The origin of the name is not documented in the sources consulted; it is a Latin feminine personal name applied to the genus by Cassini. The common name tasselflower refers to the brushy, tassel-like appearance of the discoid flower heads.
Distribution
Emilia is native primarily to tropical and subtropical Africa and Asia. Several species have become widely naturalized as weeds of disturbed habitats, roadsides, and cultivated ground throughout the Pacific Islands (including Hawaii, where the common name pualele is used), the Americas, and other warm-temperate regions.
