Boerhavia coccinea

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.{{Cite web |title=Boerhavia coccinea in Flora of North America @ efloras.org |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242414731 |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=www.efloras.org}}

File:Boerhavia coccinea flowers.jpg

The native range of the species is uncertain.{{cite journal | url=https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.9459 | doi=10.1079/cabicompendium.9459 | title=Boerhavia coccinea (Scarlet spiderling) | date=2022 | last1=Van De Witte | first1=Ymkje | journal=Cabi Compendium | volume=CABI Compendium | page=9459 | doi-access=free }} It is considered to be native to the Americas, Africa, the Arabian Peninsular, the Indian sub-continent and parts of Australia.{{cite web | url=https://apg.pir.sa.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=446726 | title=Boerhavia coccinea Mill. GRIN-Global }} 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.{{cite web | url=https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Boerhavia~coccinea | title=PlantNET - FloraOnline }}{{cite web | url=https://florabase.dbca.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/2770 | title=Florabase—the Western Australian Flora }} In Africa, B. coccinea has been found in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.{{Cite web |last=Whitehouse |first=CHRISTOPHER |date=1996 |title=BOERHAVIA coccinea Mill. [family NYCTAGINACEAE] on JSTOR |url=https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.flora.ftea003978?searchUri=filter=name&so=ps_group_by_genus_species+asc&Query=Peru |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=plants.jstor.org |doi=}} 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.{{Cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Shih-Huei |last2=Wu |first2=Ming-Jou |date=December 2007 |title=A Taxonomical Study of the Genus Boerhavia (Nyctaginaceae) in Taiwan |url=https://taiwania.ntu.edu.tw/abstract/694 |journal=Taiwania |volume=52 |issue=4 |pages=332–342 }} The species' range in Australia has expanded under human activity.

Perhaps{{who?|date=January 2024}} the most well-known instance of the plant's naturalization is the southeastern United States. A few distant{{huh?|date=January 2024}} locations of invasion include Hawaii and a few Asian countries. 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.

The plant has historically been used for its medicinal properties.{{Cite journal |last1=Osuna |first1=L. |last2=Tapia-Pérez |first2=M.E. |last3=Jiménez-Ferrer |first3=J.E. |last4=Carrillo-Quiróz |first4=B.A. |last5=Silva-Sánchez |first5=J. |date=January 2005 |title=Screening of Alternanthera repens ., Boerhavia coccinea ., Flaveria trinervia ., Tournefortia densiflora ., and Vitex mollis . Extracts to Evaluate their Antibacterial Activity and Effect on Smooth Muscle. I |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13880200500406412 |journal=Pharmaceutical Biology |language=en |volume=43 |issue=9 |pages=749–753 |doi=10.1080/13880200500406412 |s2cid=85026134 |issn=1388-0209|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last1=Piegang |first1=Basile Nganmegne |last2=Ndjateu |first2=Fabrice Sterlin Tchantchou |last3=Tene |first3=Mathieu |last4=Bomba |first4=Francis Désiré Tatsinkou |last5=Tseuguem |first5=Pius Pum |last6=Nguelefack |first6=Télesphore Benoit |date=2021-01-01 |title=Antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of Boerhavia coccinea extracts and fractions on acute and persistent inflammatory pain models |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jbcpp-2020-0118/html |journal=Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology |language=en |volume=32 |issue=1 |doi=10.1515/jbcpp-2020-0118 |pmid=33161387 |s2cid=226288221 |issn=2191-0286|url-access=subscription }}

The leaves and roots of B. coccinea are used medicinally in countries including Cameroon, Ethiopia, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay.{{Cite web |date=16 November 2021 |orig-date=23 February 2016 |editor-last=van de Witte |editor-first=Ymkje |title=Boerhavia coccinea (scarlet spiderling) |url=https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/9459#touses |access-date=2022-08-11 |website=www.cabi.org |language=en}} In traditional Mexican Medicine, B. coccinea has been used to treat conditions such as diarrhea and dysentery. 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. It is also eaten by humans and used as animal feed. A flour can be made from its seeds.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

Even in places where the plant is native, such as Sonora, Mexico, the weed is often found competing with important crops.{{Cite journal |last1=DE LEÓN DE LA LUZ |first1=JOSÉ LUIS |last2=REBMAN |first2=JON |last3=DOMÍNGUEZ LEÓN |first3=MIGUEL |last4=DOMÍNGUEZ CADENA |first4=RAYMUNDO |date=2008-06-01 |title=La flora vascular y las relaciones florísticas de la sierra de La Giganta de Baja California Sur, México |journal=Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad |volume=79 |issue=1 |doi=10.22201/ib.20078706e.2008.001.532 |issn=2007-8706|doi-access=free }}

{{reflist}}

• [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?5194,5215,5216 Jepson Manual Treatment]
• [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Boerhavia+coccinea Photo gallery]

{{WestAfricanPlants|Boerhavia coccinea}}

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coccinea

Category:Flora of New South Wales

Category:Flora of the Northern Territory

Category:Flora of Queensland

Category:Flora of South Australia

Category:Eudicots of Western Australia

Category:Taxa named by Philip Miller