Common Name:

General Information

Boerhavia erecta is an erect annual to perennial plant with a stout rootstock, growing up to 1 metre tall. The stems branch mainly from the base and can become woody at their bottoms[].
The plant is often gathered from the wild, especially in India, for local medicinal use[].

Known Hazards

Neonatal tetanus is relatively prevalent in parts of Sudan and this plant is suspected of being a vehicle for the infection[].

Botanical References

Range

Probably originating in the New World Tropics, it has become a pantropical weed.

Habitat

Disturbed sandy and rocky soil in open bushland, waste ground, cultivation, roadsides; alluvial plains; at elevations from sea level to 2,500 metres[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	1.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A weed of tropical areas, where it can be found at elevations up to 2,500 metres, growing mainly in areas with seasonal rainfall[, ].
Prefers a sunny position[].
The plant can become a serious weed of cultivated crops[]. It is a common weed in several annual and perennial crops, but causes little damage[].

Edible Uses

Leaves - cooked. Occasionally used as a vegetable[]. The leaves are sometimes eaten as a vegetable or used for the preparation of sauces[].

Medicinal

The root is valued especially as a diuretic, but is also anthelmintic, cardiotonic, expectorant, febrifuge, hepato-protective, laxative, stomachic, and, in higher doses, emetic and purgative[]. As a diuretic it is useful in treating cases of strangury, jaundice, enlarged spleen, gonorrhoea and other internal inflammations. In moderate doses it is successful in the treatment of asthma[]. The dried root is powdered and added to local beer as an aphrodisiac[].
Used externally, a paste of the roots is rubbed on abscesses and ulcers to ripen them[]. The roots are used in a preparation for treating the stump of a newly severed umbilical cord[].

The plant is used as a vermifuge[]. A decoction of the whole plant is taken to treat gastro-intestinal, liver and infertility problems, and convulsions in children[].

The ash of the whole plant is rubbed on the skin of the head as a treatment against fungal infections[]. Mixed with oil, it is rubbed on to affected areas on to treat rheumatism and scabies[].

The leaves are crushed in water and the extract taken to treat diarrhoea[].
Sap from the leaves is squeezed into the eye to treat conjunctivitis[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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