Vernonia

A genus of plants whose seeds yield an oil rich in vernolic acid — with triacylglycerols carrying epoxidized fatty-acid groups — notably Vernonia galamensis. The oil’s natural epoxy functionality makes it a candidate renewable feedstock for coatings, adhesives, and plasticizers, a bio-based alternative to petrochemical epoxides. Agronomists have explored domesticating Vernonia as an industrial oilseed for semi-arid regions. It is not a food oil — epoxy fatty acids are not food-safe — but its development shows how underused oilseeds can supply green chemistry, provided breeding lifts yield, harvestability, and reliable epoxy content for industrial specifications.