Brata (Montanoa bipinnatifida)

Brata (Montanoa bipinnatifida) is a species of plant in the Asteraceae, shrub or small tree, rarely branched, terete trunk with a soft spongy center, growing wild along forest boundaries, watercourses and disturbed land.

M. bipinnatifida has stems erect, woody, rarely branched, cylindrical in shape with signs of leaf stalks such as forming internodes, bright brown or white with black spots.

Stem has rows of leaves arranged opposite, long stalk, heart-shaped base, pointed tip, irregularly serrated, ciliated, has many lobes, dark green upper surface and pale green underside.

Disc flowers have long stalks, white, cymose panicles, numerous at the terminal and branched. The green crown turns yellow.

Brata fills the vegetation of savannas, riverbanks, ditches, rainforest edges, roadsides, neglected and disturbed lands. White flowers and attractive foliage are often used for living fences and ornamental plants.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Genus: Montanoa
Species: Montanoa bipinnatifida

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