Description :

• Herbs, shrubs or vines
• Leaves generally opposite, frequently entire, sometimes serrate or lobed, usually petiolate, rarely sessile, frequently trinerved
• Capitula discoid; usually corymbose-paniculate, rarely solitary, few- to many-flowered
• Involucral bracts mostly unequal and subimbricate to imbricate in several rows or subequal in 1 or 2 rows (eximbricate)
• Receptacle mostly epaleate and glabrous, rarely paleate
• Disc florets bisexual, regular, 5-lobed, white, pink, purple, violet or blue, never yellow
• Anthers ecalcarate or rarely shortly calcarate, ecaudate; anther appendage ovate-lanceolate to oblong; endothecial tissue radial; filament collar elongate-oblong, sometimes widened, cells often with annular thickenings
• Style with very long, filiform-linear to oblanceolate-clavate, smooth-mamillose to papillose-pilose, usually coloured, sterile style branch appendages; hairs obtuse; stigmatic areas in 2 short, widely separated marginal lines at base of each style branch; glands sometimes present between stigmatic bands; style base sometimes pubescent
• Cypselas rather uniform, black, mostly oblong and prismatic with ± 5 ribs, more rarely with 7-10 ribs, rarely flattened; glabrous or pubescent with twin hairs
• Pappus usually of many scabrid-barbellate bristles, or of few bristles or scales, or both bristles and scales, rarely coroniform or 0

Nomenclature:

• Eupatorieae
  • Cassini: 202 (1819)
  • Bremer et al.: 643 (1994)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global : Genera 170, mainly South, Central and North America, West Indies, a few pantropical genera in Africa and South America and pantropical weeds, only 1 genus extending through Asia to Europe and North Africa
• Southern Africa : Genera 7, species 13

References:

• BREMER, K., ANDERBERG, A.A., KARIS, P.O. & LUNDBERG, J. 1994. Tribe Eupatorieae . In K. Bremer, Asteraceae , cladistics & classification . Timber Press, Portland, Oregon
• CASSINI, A.H.G. DE. 1819. In Journal de physique, de chimie, d'histoire naturelle et des artes 88

Resources:

• Key to Asteraceae tribes
• Key to Eupatorieae genera

• Eupatorieae genera: