Euphorbia hirta

Euphorbia hirta
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Euphorbiaceae
Genus:	Euphorbia
Species:	E. hirta
Binomial name
Euphorbia hirta L.
Synonyms [1]
List Chamaesyce hirta Desmonema hirta Ditrita hirta Euphorbia hirta var. typica Euphorbia pilulifera var. hirta

Euphorbia hirta in Panchkhal valley

Euphorbia hirta (sometimes called asthma-plant ^[2] ) is a pantropical weed, originating from the tropical regions of the Americas. ^[3] It is a hairy herb that grows in open grasslands, roadsides and pathways. It is widely used in traditional herbal medicine across many cultures, particularly for asthma, skin ailments, and hypertension. ^[4] It is also consumed in herbal tea form as folk medicine for fevers in the Philippines (where it is known as tawa-tawa), particularly for dengue fever and malaria. ^{[5] [6]}

Description

This erect or prostrate annual herb can grow up to 60 cm (24 in) long with a solid stem that is furnished with many yellow to reddish coarse hairs, and produces an abundant white latex. ^[7] There are stipules present. The leaves have an oblique base and are simple, elliptical to slightly rhombic, hairy (on both upper and lower surfaces but particularly on the veins on the lower leaf surface), with a finely dentate margin, the veins upperside being deep-set and conspicuous on the underside, and the leaf surface somewhat leathery. Leaves occur in opposite pairs on the stem. The flowers are unisexual and found in axillary cymes at each leaf node, held as dense balls of flowers and fruit capsules usually close to the stem, the flower glands with tiny white/pinkish petal-like appendages. The fruit is a capsule with three valves (creating 3 sides), uniformly appressed hairy, containing tiny (0.7–0.9 mm), oblong, four-sided orange to pink or red seeds. It has a white or brown taproot. FNA

Taxonomy

Euphorbia hirta was given its scientific name by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It continues to be classified in the genus Euphorbia within the family Euphorbiaceae. It has no accepted varieties, but has some among its 33 synonyms. ^[1]

Table of Synonyms

Name	Year	Rank	Notes
Chamaesyce gemella(Lag.) Small	1913	species	= het.
Chamaesyce hirta(L.) Millsp.	1909	species	≡ hom.
Chamaesyce hirta var. glaberrima(Koidz.) H.Hara	1940	variety	= het.
Chamaesyce hirta f. glaberrima(Koidz.) Hurus.	1954	form	= het.
Chamaesyce hirta var. laeticinctaCroizat	1943	variety	= het.
Chamaesyce hirta f. litoralisHurus.	1954	form	= het.
Chamaesyce karwinskyi(Boiss.) Millsp.	1916	species	= het.
Chamaesyce pekinensis var. glaberrima(Koidz.) Makino & Nemoto	1925	variety	= het.
Chamaesyce pilulifera var. glaberrima(Koidz.) H.Hara	1938	variety	= het.
Chamaesyce roseiMillsp.	1916	species	= het.
Desmonema hirta(L.) Raf.	1833	species	≡ hom.
Ditrita hirta(L.) Raf.	1838	species	≡ hom.
Euphorbia bancanaMiq.	1861	species	= het.
Euphorbia capitataLam.	1788	species	= het.
Euphorbia chrysochaetaW.Fitzg.	1918	species	= het.
Euphorbia gemellaLag.	1816	species	= het.
Euphorbia globuliferaKunth	1817	species	= het.
Euphorbia hirta var. destitutaL.C.Wheeler	1939	variety	= het.
Euphorbia hirta var. glaberrimaKoidz.	1919	variety	= het.
Euphorbia hirta var. typicaL.C.Wheeler	1939	variety	≡ hom., not validly publ.
Euphorbia karwinskyiBoiss.	1860	species	= het.
Euphorbia nodifloraSteud.	1840	species	= het.
Euphorbia obliterataJacq.	1760	species	= het.
Euphorbia pilulifera var. arechavaletaeHerter	1910	variety	= het.
Euphorbia pilulifera var. discolorEngelm.	1859	variety	= het.
Euphorbia pilulifera var. glabrescensThell.	1917	variety	= het.
Euphorbia pilulifera var. guaraniticaChodat & Hassl.	1905	variety	= het.
Euphorbia pilulifera var. hirta(L.) Thell.	1917	variety	≡ hom.
Euphorbia pilulifera f. humifusaDomin	1927	form	= het.
Euphorbia pilulifera var. obliterata(Jacq.) Hitchc.	1893	variety	= het.
Euphorbia pilulifera f. rubromaculataDomin	1927	form	= het.
Euphorbia pilulifera f. viridisDomin	1927	form	= het.
Euphorbia verticillataVell.	1829	species	= het., nom. illeg.
Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym

Names

Euphorbia hirta has many common names including garden spurge, pillpod spurge, and hairy spurge. Is is also called by the related names asthma weed, asthma plant and Queensland asthma weed. Additionally it is known as red milkweed and snakeweed. ^[8]

Flowers of Euphorbia hirta

Pollen grains of Euphorbia hirta

References

1. "Euphorbia hirta L." Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2 November 2025.
2. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
3. "The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney PlantNET Database Entry". Royal Botanical Gardens Sydney. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
4. Kumar S, Malhotra R, Kumar D (2010). "Euphorbia hirta: Its chemistry, traditional and medicinal uses, and pharmacological activities". Pharmacognosy Reviews. 4 (7): 58–61. doi: 10.4103/0973-7847.65327 . PMC   3249903 . PMID   22228942.
5. Yam, Hilton Y.; Montaño, Marco Nemesio E.; Sia, Isidro C.; Heralde, Francisco M. III; Tayao, Lotgarda (2018). "Ethnomedicinal Uses of tawatawa (Euphorbia hirta Linn.) in Selected Communities in the Philippines: a Non-invasive Ethnographic Survey Using Pictures for Plant Identification". Acta Medica Philippina. 52 (5). doi: 10.47895/amp.v52i5.325 .
6. "'Tawa-tawa': Herbal supplement that can help fight dengue". PhilStar Global. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
7. "Open Source for Weed Assessment in Lowland Paddy Fields (OSWALD)". Asia IT&C Programme of the European Union. 2007-07-21. Archived from the original on July 9, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
8. Randall, Roderick Peter (2002). A global compendium of weeds . Melbourne, Australia: R.G. and F.J. Richardson. p. 192. ISBN   978-0-9587439-8-3. OCLC   50867942 . Retrieved 2 November 2025.

Further reading

• Pratheepa, Vijayakumari; Sukumaran, NatarajaPillai (13 November 2014). "Effect of Euphorbia hirta plant leaf extract on immunostimulant response of Aeromonas hydrophila infected Cyprinus carpio". PeerJ . 2: e671. doi: 10.7717/peerj.671 . PMC   4232839 . PMID   25405077.
• Quy, Trinh; Ly, Le (April 2014). "An investigation of antidiabetic activities of bioactive compounds in Euphorbia hirta Linn using molecular docking and pharmacophore". Medicinal Chemistry Research. 23 (4): 2033–2045. doi:10.1007/s00044-013-0794-y. S2CID   1918125.

External links

• PROTA4U: Euphorbia hirta
• Euphorbia hirta in West African plants – A Photo Guide.