Boerhavia coccinea | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Nyctaginaceae |
Genus: | Boerhavia |
Species: | B. coccinea |
Binomial name | |
Boerhavia coccinea | |
Synonyms | |
Boerhavia caribaea |
Boerhavia coccinea is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family which is known by many common names, including tar vinescarlet spiderling and red boerhavia.
The native range of the species is uncertain. [1] It is considered to be native to the Americas, Africa, the Arabian Peninsular, the Indian sub-continent and parts of Australia. [2] Some data suggests the species originated in an area between the southern USA and northern South America and introduced to other parts of the world by human activity.
The species' range in Australia has expanded under human activity. [3] [4] In Africa, B. coccinea has been found in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. [5] [6] The uncertainty concerning the native range is exacerbated by the difficulty of distinguishing species within the B. diffusa -B. coccinea complex.
The plant exists in many parts of the world and some sources consider it an invasive species in most. [7] The species' range in Australia has expanded under human activity. [8] [9]
Perhaps [ who? ] the most well-known instance of the plant's naturalization is the southeastern United States. A few distant [ clarification needed ] locations of invasion include Hawaii and a few Asian countries. [7] In Asia, specifically in Taiwan, B. coccinea is found among other weeds on the sides of roads, in lawns, and along bodies of water. Globally, the plant tends to live near large bodies of water. [7]
This plant grows in a wide variety of habitats, including disturbed areas as a common roadside weed. It is a low-lying, sprawling perennial herb producing reaching stems which can exceed a meter in length. The stems are somewhat hairy and sticky with glands. The generally oval-shaped leaves are held on short petioles. They are wavy along the edges and may have reddish margins. The inflorescence is a small head of tiny frilly flowers, each just a few millimeters long. The flowers are often bright scarlet to red-violet in color but can be shades of pink, yellow, or white. [10]
The plant has historically been used for its medicinal properties. [11] [12]
The leaves and roots of B. coccinea are used medicinally in countries including Cameroon, Ethiopia, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. [13] In traditional Mexican Medicine, B. coccinea has been used to treat conditions such as diarrhea and dysentery. [11] The plant is usually used medicinally to treat pain and inflammation because of its anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive properties. The chemical explanation for these properties is an active topic of research. [12] It is also eaten by humans and used as animal feed. A flour can be made from its seeds.[ citation needed ]
Even in places where the plant is native, such as Sonora, Mexico, the weed is often found competing with important crops. [14]
Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. As a member of the Asteraceae family of dicotyledonous plants, its relatives include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia. There are 49 species of dahlia, with flowers in almost every hue, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants.
Artemisia vulgaris, the common mugwort, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is one of several species in the genus Artemisia commonly known as mugwort, although Artemisia vulgaris is the species most often called mugwort. It is also occasionally known as riverside wormwood, felon herb, chrysanthemum weed, wild wormwood, old Uncle Henry, sailor's tobacco, naughty man, old man, or St. John's plant. Mugworts have been used medicinally and as culinary herbs.
Physalis angulata is an erect herbaceous annual plant belonging to the nightshade family Solanaceae. Its leaves are dark green and roughly oval, often with tooth shapes around the edge. The flowers are five-sided and pale yellow; the yellow-orange fruits are borne inside a balloon-like calyx. The exact native range is uncertain. The species may be naturally endemic to Australia or the Americas or the native range may encompass both the Americas and Australia. It is now widely distributed and naturalized in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide.
Quercus coccinea, the scarlet oak, is a deciduous tree in the red oak section Lobatae of the genus Quercus, in the family Fagaceae.
Banksia coccinea, commonly known as the scarlet banksia, waratah banksia or Albany banksia, is an erect shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae. Its distribution in the wild is along the south west coast of Western Australia, from Denmark to the Stokes National Park, and north to the Stirling Range, growing on white or grey sand in shrubland, heath or open woodland. Reaching up to 8 m (26 ft) in height, it is a single-stemmed plant that has oblong leaves, which are 3–9 cm (1.2–3.5 in) long and 2–7 cm (0.8–2.8 in) wide. The prominent red and white flower spikes appear mainly in the spring. As they age they develop small follicles that store seeds until opened by fire. Though widely occurring, it is highly sensitive to dieback and large populations of plants have succumbed to the disease.
Stachys coccinea, the scarlet hedgenettle or Texas betony, is an ornamental plant of the family Lamiaceae, which is native from Arizona to Texas and from Baja California Sur, Mexico to Nicaragua.
Ixora is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is the only genus in the tribe Ixoreae. It consists of tropical evergreen trees and shrubs and holds around 544 species. Though native to the tropical and subtropical areas throughout the world, its centre of diversity is in Tropical Asia. Ixora also grows commonly in subtropical climates in the United States, such as Florida where it is commonly known as West Indian jasmine.
Boerhavia is a genus of over 100 species in the Nyctaginaceae family. The genus was named for Herman Boerhaave, a Dutch botanist, and the genus name is frequently misspelled "Boerhaavia". Common names include spiderlings and hogweeds.
Brownea coccinea is a species of small evergreen tree with compound leaves and clusters of bright scarlet flowers in the subfamily Detarioideae of the family Fabaceae. Common names include scarlet flame bean, mountain rose, rose of Venezuela and cooper hoop. The species is native to Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
Sarcoscypha coccinea, commonly known as the scarlet elf cup, or the scarlet cup, is a species of fungus in the family Sarcoscyphaceae of the order Pezizales. The fungus, widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, has been found in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Australia. The type species of the genus Sarcoscypha, S. coccinea has been known by many names since its first appearance in the scientific literature in 1772. Phylogenetic analysis shows the species to be most closely related to other Sarcoscypha species that contain numerous small oil droplets in their spores, such as the North Atlantic island species S. macaronesica. Due to similar physical appearances and sometimes overlapping distributions, S. coccinea has often been confused with S. occidentalis, S. austriaca, and S. dudleyi.
Ceodes umbellifera, synonym Pisonia umbellifera, commonly known as the birdlime tree or bird catcher tree, is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. The evergreen shrub has soft wood, small pink or yellow flowers, and produces cavate brown fruit throughout the period March to April. The species has been categorized under different genera in its documented lifetime, being reallocated between Pisonia and Ceodes. Its former genus, Pisonia, is named after a Dutch scientist, Willem Piso, and umbellifera is derived from Latin umbelliferum, denoting the species' big, 'shade-carrying' foliage.
Boerhavia wrightii is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family known by the common name largebract spiderling. It is native to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows amongst desert shrubs. This is an annual herb producing a slender, spidery erect stem to about 70 centimeters in maximum length. The leaves are lance-shaped to oblong with rippled edges and roughly pointed ends. Most of the leaves grow near the base of the plant. The inflorescences appear at the ends of the slim stem branches. They bear a few pale pink flowers, each just a few millimeters long, with adjacent reddish or pinkish bracts.
Boerhavia diffusa is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family which is commonly known as punarnava, red spiderling, spreading hogweed, or tarvine. It is taken in herbal medicine for pain relief and other uses. The leaves of Boerhavia diffusa are often used as a green vegetable in many parts of India.
The Ipomoea obscura, commonly known as the obscure morning glory or the small white morning glory, is a species of the genus Ipomoea. It is an invasive species native to parts of Africa, Asia, and certain Pacific Islands. While the plant's seeds are toxic, the leaves can be used for many different medicinal purposes.
B. coccinea is an abbreviated Latin binomial. The specific epithet coccinia derives from the Greek, kokkinia or kokkinias meaning "red" or "scarlet", and the name commonly refers to species with red colouration. It may refer to the following species:
Boerhavia erecta, commonly known as the erect spiderling or the erect boerhavia, is one of more than 100 species in the genus Boerhavia L. Boerhavia erecta is native to the United States, Mexico, Central America, Angola and western South America, but now is cosmopolitan in tropical and subtropical regions. In Africa its distribution extends from West Africa, eastwards to Somalia and down to South Africa. It has recently been found in parts of Madagascar and Réunion. In Asia, it occurs in India, Java, Malaysia, the Philippines, China and the Ryukyu Islands.
Stachytarpheta cayennensis is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family known by many English language common names, including blue snakeweed, Cayenne snakeweed, dark-blue snakeweed, bluetop, nettle-leaf porterweed, rattail, rough-leaf false vervain, blue rat's tail, Brazilian tea, Cayenne vervain, false verbena, joee, nettleleaf velvetberry, and Cayenne porterweed. Names in other languages include honagasō (Japanese), gervão-urticante, piche de gato, rabo de zorro (Spanish), herbe á chenille, herbe bleue, queue de rat (French), ōi or ōwī (Hawaiian), sakura or ouchung (Chuukese), and tiāki (Māori). It is native to the Americas, from Mexico south through Central and South America to Argentina, as well as many islands of the Caribbean. It is known in many other parts of the world as an introduced species, including regions in Africa, India, Indonesia, Australia, Florida in the United States, and many Pacific Islands. Its distribution is now considered pantropical. In many places, such as New Caledonia, it has become an invasive species.
Boerhavia gracillima, the slimstalk spiderling, is a plant species native to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. It prefers dry, rocky areas such as grasslands, desert scrub, roadsides and pinyon-juniper woodlands.
Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus, popularly known as cataia, craveiro or louro-cravo, is a species from the family Myrtaceae.