[Baccharis indica L.] (nat) Indian fleabane, Indian pluchea Erect shrubs 10—15(—20) dm tall, sparsely puberulent or tomentose, especially on younger parts. Leaves obovate, 2.5-4(-5) cm long, 1.2-2 cm wide, margins coarsely dentate, entire toward base, petioles 0-0.5 cm long. Heads in hemispherical panicles; involucre cylindrical to campanulate when dry, inner bracts glabrous and shiny on outer face, margins sometimes ciliate; disk corollas pink or purplish pink; pappus a ring of 15-16 bristles. Achenes ca. 1 mm long, glabrous or with a few white hairs near apex. [2n = 20, 30.] Native to southern Asia, widely introduced in the tropics, usually in saline places; in Hawaii naturalized in low elevation, dry, coastal habitats on Midway Atoll, Laysan, and probably all of the main islands but not documented from Hawai‘i. First collected on 0‘ahu in 1915 {Rock 17190, BISH).—Plate33.
