Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for False Daisy - Eclipta prostrata   (L.) L.
Members of Asteraceae:
Only member of Eclipta in NC.
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Section 6 » Order Asterales » Family Asteraceae
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Author(L.) L.
DistributionNearly statewide -- Coastal Plain, Sandhills, and Piedmont; scattered in the low Mountains.

MA to WI, south to FL and TX. Neotropics.
AbundanceCommon to locally abundant in the Coastal Plain and eastern-central Piedmont; rare to infrequent in the upper Piedmont and lower Mountains.
HabitatRiver shores and backup channels, oxbow ponds and depressions, cypress-gum and maple-gum swamps, wet roadside ditches, shores of impoundments, interdune marshes, and various other mostly sunny and wet/damp disturbed ground.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting June-November.
IdentificationThis is an annual herb with spreading to mostly erect stems that root at some nodes. Most plants grow 2 feet long or less, with opposite, lance-shaped, toothed leaves. Heads are very small (less than 1/3-inch across), with numerous dull whitish rays 2-2.5 mm long. The plant often appears weedy, somewhat like an exotic species, though it clearly is a native one.
Taxonomic CommentsA synonym is Eclipta alba.

Other Common Name(s)Yerba-de-Tajo (often spelled as Yerba-de-tago). This name is often used, but thankfully False Daisy is a good and alternate common name.
State RankS5
Global RankG5
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US Status
USACE-agcpFACW link
USACE-empFAC link
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B.A. SorriePiedmont, depression that holds water, off Carbonton Road, Aug 2015. MoorePhoto_natural
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