''Calea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the aster 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 ...

.Linnaeus, Carl von. 1763. Species Plantarum, Editio Secunda 2: 1179
in Latin They are distributed in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

regionsdo Nascimento, A. M., et al. (2007)
Chromanones with leishmanicidal activity from ''Calea uniflora''.
''Zeitschrift für Naturforschung'' 62(5-6), 353-56. in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, and

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 ...

.Ferraz, A., et al. (2009)
Pharmacological and genotoxic evaluation of ''Calea clematidea'' and ''Calea uniflora''.
''Latin American Journal of Pharmacy'' 28(6), 858-62.Pozo, P. and D. N. Hind. (2013)
A new species of ''Calea'' sect. ''Meyeria'' (Compositae: Heliantheae: Neurolaeninae), ''Calea woodii'', from Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
''Kew Bulletin'' 68, 1-5. Extracts of ''Calea'' species have had

antifungal An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as ...

anti-inflammatory Anti-inflammatory is the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation, fever or swelling. Anti-inflammatory drugs, also called anti-inflammatories, make up about half of analgesics. These drugs reduce pain by inhibiting mechan ...

cytotoxic Cytotoxicity is the quality of being toxic to cells. Examples of toxic agents are toxic metals, toxic chemicals, microbe neurotoxins, radiation particles and even specific neurotransmitters when the system is out of balance. Also some types of dr ...

, larvicidal, antiplasmodial, and

antihypertensive Antihypertensives are a class of drugs that are used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure). Antihypertensive therapy seeks to prevent the complications of high blood pressure, such as stroke, heart failure, kidney failure and myocardial infa ...

effects in experiments. Some species are used in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

and ritual. '' Calea clematidea'' is used to treat

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

. '' Calea ternifolia'' is used in Mexico to treat

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

and

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

, and native peoples use it to influence their dreams.

Species

161 species are accepted. ; Names brought to synonymy: * ''Calea elegans'' DC., a synonym for '' Perymenium acuminatum'', a plant found in Mexico

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2661782 Asteraceae genera Flora of the Neotropical realm Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus