Common Name:

General Information

Ammannia baccifera is an erect, many-branched, annual herb usually growing 10 - 50cm tall with occasional specimens to 100cm[].
The plant is sometimes gathered from the wild for local use as a food and medicine.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa, through Asia to India, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines to Australia.

Habitat

Wet places and farmland in China[]. Open, damp, waste places in the Philippines[]. A very variable species, found in rice fields and other wet places in Pakistan at elevations up to 1,200 metres[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.40 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant is often found as a weed of cultivated land, especially wet sites such as rice fields[].

Edible Uses

Young leaves - occasionally cooked and eaten as a vegetable[].

Medicinal

The leaves are irritant, rubefacient and vesicant[]. The freshly bruised leaves are applied as a plaster to the skin in order to increase local blood supply in the treatment of skin diseases, wounds and swellings; and are also used as an external remedy for ringworms and parasitic skin infections[, ]. The leaves or ashes of the plant, mixed with oil, are applied to herpetic eruptions[, ].

The plant is used in the treatment of fevers, malaria, jaundice and to eliminate blood clots[].

The plant yields resin, glucose, and probably an active principle. Phytochemical screening yielded tannins, saponins, flavonoids, steroids, and alkaloids[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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