''Aspilia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of flowering plants in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

. ''Aspilia'' is native to sub-Saharan

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, and tropical

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

.Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist Accessed
/ref> Some authors have merged this genus with ''

Wedelia ''Wedelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are one of the genera commonly called "creeping-oxeyes". The genus is named in honor of German botanist and physician Georg Wolfgang Wedel, 1645–1721. Taxonomy There a ...

'', but others maintain that more study is required.

Medicinal uses

Historically, '' Aspilia africana'' was used in

Mbaise Mbaise is a region in Imo State in southeastern Nigeria. In the heart of Igboland, the region includes several towns and cities. The population is composed of indigenous clans, connected by intermarriage. With a population density of over 1,000 p ...

and most

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a t ...

speaking parts of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

to prevent conception, suggesting potential

contraceptive Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

and anti-fertility properties. Leaf extract and fractions of ''A. africana'' effectively arrested bleeding from fresh wounds, inhibited microbial growth of known wound contaminants and accelerated wound healing process. ''Aspilia'' is hypothesized to be used as herbal medicine by some

chimpanzees The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close relative the ...

.Raffaele Paul "Among the Great Apes"'',Harper, 2010 p98

Species

63 species are currently accepted.

References

Heliantheae Asteraceae genera Taxa described in 1806 Taxa named by Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars {{Heliantheae-stub