Turnera ulmifolia

Turnera ulmifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Passifloraceae
Genus:	Turnera
Species:	T. ulmifolia
Binomial name
Turnera ulmifolia L.

Turnera ulmifolia, the ramgoat dashalong ^[1] or yellow alder, is a species of plant of family Passifloraceae, native to Mexico and the West Indies. A recent study found that yellow alder potentiated the antibiotic activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). ^[2]

Description

Immature yellow flower

Turnera ulmifolia grows erect, with dark toothed leaves and small, yellow-orange flowers, and is often found as a weed growing on roadsides. These yellow flowers bloom around 6:00 a.m. and wilt around 11:30 a.m. Life span for flower is around six hours. These plants can survive on minimum water and grow on walls, cement blocks, and rocks. Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore) butterfly larvae feed on these plants. This plant is commonly misidentified with the closely related T. diffusa in horticultural commerce, causing it to be often misrepresented as "Damiana." ^{[3] [4] [5]}

References

1. NRCS. "Turnera ulmifolia". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 12 December 2015.
2. Coutinho, Henrique DM; Costa, José GM; Lima, Edeltrudes O; Falcão-Silva, Vivyanne S; Siqueira Júnior, José P (2009). "Herbal therapy associated with antibiotic therapy: potentiation of the antibiotic activity against methicillin – resistant Staphylococcus aureus by Turnera ulmifolia L". BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 9 (1): 13. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-9-13 . ISSN   1472-6882. PMC   2685411 . PMID   19426487.
3. Joshi, V.C.; Rao, A.S.; Wang, Y.H.; Avula, B.; Khan, I.A. (March 2009). "Taxonomic Clarification on Turnera diffusa Ward and its Demarcation from "False Damiana" using Fluorescence, Scanning Electron Microscopy, HPTLC and UPLC". Planta Medica. 75 (4). doi: 10.1055/s-2009-1216454 .
4. "Damiana - Turnera diffusa, Turnera ulmifolia seed pictures". shroomery.org. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
5. "Turnera diffusa var diffusa or var aphrodisiaca or what?". National Gardening Association. Retrieved 7 September 2016.