Sida rhombifolia | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malvales |
Family: | Malvaceae |
Genus: | Sida |
Species: | S. rhombifolia |
Binomial name | |
Sida rhombifolia | |
Sida rhombifolia, commonly known as arrowleaf sida, [1] is a perennial or sometimes annual plant in the Family Malvaceae, native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Other common names include rhombus-leaved sida, Paddy's lucerne, jelly leaf, and also somewhat confusingly as Cuban jute, [2] Queensland-hemp, [3] and Indian hemp (although S. rhombifolia is not closely related to either jute or hemp). Synonyms include Malva rhombifolia. It is used in Ayurvedic medicine, where it is known as kurumthotti.
The stems are erect to sprawling and branched, growing 50 to 120 centimeters in height, with the lower sections being woody. The dark green, diamond-shaped leaves are arranged alternately along the stem, 4 to 8 centimeters long, with petioles that are less than a third of the length of the leaves. The leaves are paler below, with short, grayish hairs. The apical half of the leaves have toothed or serrated margins while the remainder of the leaves are entire (untoothed). The petioles have small spiny stipules at their bases.
The moderately delicate flowers occur singly on flower stalks that arise from the area between the stems and leaf petioles. They consist of five petals that are 4 to 8 millimeters long, creamy to orange-yellow in color, and may be somewhat reddish in the center. Each of the five overlapping petals is asymmetric, having a long lobe on one side. The stamens unite in a short column. The fruit is a ribbed capsule, which breaks up into 8 to 10 segments. The plant blooms throughout the year.
It is widely distributed as a tropical and subtropical weed in the eastern and western hemispheres. This species is usually confined to waste ground, such as roadsides and rocky areas, stock camps or rabbit warrens, but can be competitive in pasture, because of its unpalatability to livestock. It grows on savannahs, roadsides, thick scrub, hillsides, and swampy woodlands. It is such a tropical species that it is located below 2,000 meters above sea level.
The plant is emollient and is for ulcers, high fevers and is antidiarrheal. It is useful against heart conditions such as pulmonary catarrh and ovarian diseases. Its root is used as an anticrotalic, a serum is prepared against the venom of rattlesnakes and black widow spiders. In Jalapa (Mexico) it is used a substitute drug for marijuana. In Alor, Eastern Indonesia the leaves are used to treat boils, and the root is used to treat infant asthma. [4] : 56
From the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, a division of the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service:
Arrowleaf sida stems are used as rough cordage, sacking, and for making brooms. The stems have a high quality fiber and were once exported from India and elsewhere as “hemp” (Guzmán 1975, Holm and others 1997). Chemical analysis revealed that the leaves contain respectable amounts of nutrients: 74,000 to 347,000 ppm protein, 94,000 to 475,000 ppm carbohydrates, 33,000 to 167,000 ppm fiber, 14,000 to 71,000 ppm fat, and 16,000 to 81,000 ppm ash. However, it was reported that the root contained 450 ppm alkaloids and the presence of ephedrine and saponin (Southwest School of Botanical Medicine 2002). Another source reports an alkaloid content in the root of 0.1 percent and the presence of choline, pseudoephedrine, beta-phenethylamine, vascin, hipaphorine and related indole alkaloids (Shaman Australis Ethnobotanicals 2002). Perhaps because of these chemicals, arrowleaf sida is unpalatable to cattle (Kuniata and Rapp 2001). Arrowleaf sida has significant medicinal applications for which it is cultivated throughout India. The pounded leaves are used to relieve swelling, the fruits are used to relieve headache, the mucilage is used as an emollient, and the root is used to treat rheumatism (Parrotta 2001). Australian Aborigines use the herb to treat diarrhoea. Leaves are smoked in Mexico and a tea is prepared in India for the stimulation it provides (Shaman Australis Ethnobotanicals 2002). [5]
Senecio vulgaris, often known by the common names groundsel and old-man-in-the-spring, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is an annual herb, native to Europe and widely naturalised as a ruderal species in suitable disturbed habitats worldwide.
Kenaf [etymology: Persian], Hibiscus cannabinus, is a plant in the family Malvaceae also called Deccan hemp and Java jute. Hibiscus cannabinus is in the genus Hibiscus and is native to southern Asia, though its exact origin is unknown. The name also applies to the fibre obtained from this plant. Kenaf is one of the allied fibres of jute and shows similar characteristics.
Fiber crops are field crops grown for their fibers, which are traditionally used to make paper, cloth, or rope.
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Sida cordifolia is a perennial subshrub of the mallow family Malvaceae native to India. It has naturalized throughout the world, and is considered an invasive weed in Africa, Australia, the southern United States, Hawaiian Islands, New Guinea, and French Polynesia. The specific name, cordifolia, refers to the heart-shaped leaf.
Smilax rotundifolia, also known as roundleaf greenbrier or common greenbrier, is a woody vine native to the southeastern and eastern United States and eastern Canada. It is a common and conspicuous part of the natural forest ecosystems in much of its native range. The leaves are glossy green, petioled, alternate, and circular to heart-shaped. They are generally 5–13 cm long. Common greenbrier climbs other plants using green tendrils growing out of the petioles.
Sida is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. They are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, especially in the Americas. Plants of the genus may be known generally as fanpetals or sidas.
Jateorhiza palmata (calumba) is a perennial climbing plant from East Africa. It contains isoquinoline alkaloids and is used mainly as a bitter tonic especially in cases of anorexia nervosa. It contains no tannins, hence it can be safely used in iron preparations for the treatment of anaemia without the fear of precipitation resulted from in vitro interaction.
Acalypha rhomboidea is a plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae.
Heliotropium europaeum is a species of heliotrope known by the common names European heliotrope and European turn-sole. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but it is widely naturalized elsewhere, such as in Australia and North America. It grows as a roadside weed in some places. This is an annual herb growing from a taproot and reaching maximum heights near 40 centimeters. The stem and oval-shaped leaves are covered in soft hairs. The inflorescences are coiled spikes of white flowers with fuzzy or bristly sepals. Each flower is just a few millimeters wide. The fruit is a bumpy nutlet.
Symphytum officinale is a perennial flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. Along with thirty four other species of Symphytum, it is known as comfrey. To differentiate it from other members of the genus Symphytum, this species is known as common comfrey or true comfrey. Other English names include Quaker comfrey, cultivated comfrey, boneset, knitbone, consound, and slippery-root. It is native to Europe, growing in damp, grassy places. It is locally frequent throughout Ireland and Britain on river banks and ditches. It occurs elsewhere, including North America, as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. The flowers are mostly visited by bumblebees. Internal or long-term topical use of comfrey is discouraged due to its strong potential to cause liver toxicity.
Solanum erianthum is a species of nightshade that is native to southern North America and northern South America. It has been introduced to other parts of the world and has a nearly pantropical distribution. Common names include potatotree, mullein nightshade, velvet nightshade, and salvadora. The potatoes are not the fruits of the trees, they are the leaves.
Ranunculus cymbalaria is a species of buttercup known by the common names alkali buttercup and seaside buttercup. It is native to much of Eurasia and parts of North and South America, where it grows in many types of habitat, especially in moist to wet areas such as marshes, bogs, and moist spring meadows. It is a perennial herb producing several stems a few centimeters to nearly 40 centimeters long. Some are prostrate against the ground and are stolons which root in moist substrate, and some are erect. The leaves are variable in shape, the basal ones with notched or slightly divided leaf blades borne on long petioles, and any upper leaves much reduced in size. The inflorescence bears one or more flowers on erect stalks. The flower has five to eight pale yellow petals, each under a centimeter long. The protruding receptacle at the center of the flower becomes a cylindrical cluster of fruits, each of which is an achene.
Ipomoea lacunosa, the whitestar, white morning-glory or pitted morning-glory, is a species that belongs to the genus Ipomoea. In this genus most members are commonly referred to as "morning glories". The name for the genus, Ipomoea, has root in the Greek words ips and homoios, which translates to worm-like. This is a reference to the plant's vine-like growth. Lacunosa comes from a Latin word meaning air spaces, correlating with the venation of the leaves. Ipomoea lacunosa is native to the United States and grows annually. The flowers of this species are usually white and smaller than most other morning glories.
Melochia corchorifolia, the chocolateweed, is a weedy tropical plant that is typically seen in the wastelands. It has been most frequently observed to grow in open areas, such as highways. Although Melochia corchorifolia does not have any common usage, it has been utilized as a homeopathic remedy. Its weedy and invasive characteristic inhibits its wider cultivation.
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Polygala senega is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family, Polygalaceae. It is native to North America, where it is distributed in southern Canada and the central and eastern United States. Its common names include Seneca snakeroot, senega snakeroot, senegaroot, rattlesnake root, and mountain flax. Its species name honors the Seneca people, a Native American group who used the plant to treat snakebite.
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