Common Name:

General Information

Coldenia procumbens is a prostrate, spreading annual plant with several, much-branched stems up to 40cm long growing from a woody rootstock. The plant sometimes forms large mats of growth[, , ].
The plant is often harvested from the wild, mainly for local use as a medicine, but also occasionally traded on the Internet[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Widespread, though scattered, through the tropics from Africa, through Asia to Australia.

Habitat

Sandy sites liable to inundation and desiccation[]. In plains, banks and edges of rivers and lagoons, on sandy or muddy soils that can be seasonally flooded; at elevations from 90 - 750 metres[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.20 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Prefers a sunny position. The plant is able to tolerate extreme heat, periodic inundation and drought[].
The plant is locally considered to be a weed, often growing in rice fields[, ]. The seed has a partly thick and corky coat, which enables dispersal by water[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The juice of the leaf is taken orally to prevent white discharge in women[].
The fresh leaves are pulped-up and applied as a poultice to areas of rheumatic swelling or to mature abscesses[, , ]. The leaves are added to a bath as a treatment for tumours[]. The dried leaves, when pulverized, are used to provoke sneezing[, ]. A decoction of the aerial parts is used as a treatment for tendonitis[].
The dried plant, combined with equal parts of fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is reduced to a powder and applied to boils which then quickly maturate[, ]. A mixture of leaves, combined with the flowers of Ixora coccinia, leaves of Centella asiatica and stem bark of Madhuca longifolia, is boiled in water and the decoction applied topically with coconut oil for wound healing[].

Extracts of the plant have shown some analgesic effects[].
The plant has shown good hypoglycaemic effects. Results showed a reduction of blood glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol levels[].
An ethanolic extract of the aerial parts of the plant have shown significant anti-inflammatory activity[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.

Name:

Email(Private):

Message:

Captcha: what is greater, 5 or 9?