[2] The genus name of Vernonia is in honour of William Vernon (1666/67 - ca.1711), who was an English plant collector, (bryologist) and entomologist from Cambridge University, who collected in Maryland, USA in 1698.

Several species of Vernonia, including V. calvoana, V. amygdalina, and V. colorata, are eaten as leaf vegetables.

Common names for these species include bitterleaf, onugbu in the Igbo language, ewuro and ndole.

It is reported that the Ethiopian strains of Vernonia have the highest oil content, up to 41.9% with up to 80% vernolic acid, and is used in paint formulations, coatings plasticizers, and as a reagent for many industrial chemicals.

Vernonia is a very diverse genus, varying from the tiny V. desertorum of the Caatinga region of Brazil which is only three inches (8 centimeters) tall[12] to Vernonia arborea of the East Indies which, at 117 feet (36 meters) is the tallest of all composites; a 472 fold difference in height.

The liana Vernonia andersoni of Burma, according to Menninger, "climbs into the tops of trees"[13] and could be even taller.

The leaves can vary from quite small up to four feet (1.2 meters) long by up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) in width in the case of Vernonia conferta of Cameroon.