Common Name: Ash-coloured Fleabane

General Information

Cyanthillium cinereum is an erect, branching, annual plant growing 15 - 80cm tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. It is sometimes cultivated as a vegetable in Kenya[], and is also used in Ayurvedic herbal medicine[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Africa - Senegal to Somalia, south to S. Africa; through Arabia, tropical Asia to New Guinea and Australia.

Habitat

Weed, often in open places on slopes, fields and roadsides[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.50 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of tropical regions, where it is found at elevations up to 1,300 metres[].
Succeeds in a sunny position on a wide range of soils[].
The seeds are dispersed by the wind. The plant has become an adventive weed in many parts of the tropics[].
The flowerheads have religious value in different communities[].

Edible Uses

Leaves - cooked[]. The slightly bitter leaves are used as a potherb or added to soups[].

Medicinal

Ash-coloured fleabane is used in Ayurvedic herbal medicine as an alterative, diaphoretic and febrifuge[]. The whole plant, including the seed and the roots, is used[].

A decoction of the whole plant is employed to promote perspiration in the treatment of fevers[]. It is seen as a good remedy for bladder spasms and strangury[]. The juice of the plant is used to treat piles[].
A paste made from the plant is used as a poultice on cuts, wounds and skin diseases[].

The leaves and young stems are abortifacient, blood purifier and diuretic[]. A decoction is used to treat kidney disorders, swellings, inflammation, lower abdominal pains and menstrual pains; also to expel the placenta and as an abortifacient. It is considered a more potent abortifacient and better treatment for menstrual pains when C. cinereum is
decocted with Justicia secunda. An infusion of the leaves, combined with Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, is used for treating albuminuria; sprains[].
A poultice of the leaves is applied to the forehead in the treatment of headaches[].

The seeds, and the fatty oil they contain, are alterative, anthelmintic and antidote[, ]. They are used as an antidote to poison and in the treatment of leprosy and chronic skin diseases[]. They are said to be quite effective against roundworms and threadworms[]. They are also given for coughs, flatulence, intestinal colic and dysuria and for leucoderma, psoriasis and other chronic skin-diseases[]. The seeds are made into a paste with lime juice and used for destroying lice[].

The flowers are used in treating conjunctivitis[, ].

The root is used in treating dropsy and scorpion stings[]. The juice of the root is used in the treatment of haemorrhoids, diarrhoea and stomach disorders[]. In some areas the root is valued as an anthelmintic[].
A paste of the root is applied externally to boils[].

The plant contains triterpenes and sterols[].
The oil contains vernolic acid[].
Various extracts of the plant are antiviral, anticancer and diuretic[].

Other Uses

The seeds yield a fatty oil which is used medicinally[].

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 half of 100?