Elephantopus is a genus of at least twelve species of perennials in the daisy family

Asteraceae

The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...

. Several species are native to the southeastern United States, and at least one is native to India and the Himalayas.

Uses

E. scaber is a traditional medicine and other species, including E. mollis and E. carolinianus, have also been investigated for medicinal properties. E. scaber contains elephantopin

Elephantopin

Elephantopin is a natural chemical compound extracted from the Elephantopus elatus plant of the genus Elephantopus, family Compositae. It is a sesquiterpene lactone with a germacranolide skeleton, containing two lactone rings and an epoxide functional group.It has been shown to have an antitumor...

 which is a germacranolide

Germacranolide

Germacranolides are a group of natural chemical compounds classified as sesquiterpene lactones. They are found in a variety of plant sources....

 sesquiterpene lactone

Sesquiterpene lactone

Sesquiterpene lactones are a class of chemical compounds; they are sesquiterpenoids and contain a lactone ring, hence the name....

containing two lactone rings and an epoxide functional group, and it has shown to have an antitumour activity.