Common Name:

General Information

Dichrocephala integrifolia is an erect or spreading, aromatilc annual plant growing 20 - 60cm tall, occasionally to 100cm. It often branches freely at the base, though can a,so be unbranched, and forms new roots at the leaf nodes[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Scattered from tropical and subtropical Africa, through the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, tropical and subtropical Asia to New Guinea, Australia, Pacific

Habitat

A common weed of fallowed rice fields and moist waste places; also found on old clearings, along trails, drainage ditches and roads, especially on clay soils, at elevations from 500 - 3,000 metres[]. Grassland and semi-shaded areas in Africa[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.50 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Found mainly on clay soils in the wild, the plant can also grow abundantly on humid, mostly hard or stony soils[].
Flowering is seasonal in regions with a cool and/or dry season, otherwise the plant flowers throughout the year[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Decoctions of the flower buds are used as a sudorific and diuretic[, ].
When the aroma of the crushed flower heads is inhaled it induces sneezing and thus helps to reduce nasal congestion[].

The leaves are antiviral[].
Applied externally, the leaves are crushed and used to treat ulcers and swellings[]. The young shoots are applied as a poultice in treating blennorrhoea, leucorrhoea, and the stings or bites of insects, spiders or scorpions[, ].

The plant juice is used as a treatment against filariasis[], it is used in treating malarial fevers and, when put in the nose, is used to treat sinusitis and migraine[]..
The dried and powdered plant is applied as a dressing on old infected wounds[]. The juice of the plant is appled to cuts and wounds[].

This is a medicinal plant, used in the treatment of dyspepsia and indigestion, as an antiphlogistic, and as an antiemetic[].

The plant contains flavonoids like rutin, which display interesting pharmacological activities. Rutin is known as a 'capillary protectant', the substance is used to treat capillary and venous disorders[].
The methanol extract of the entire plant shows weak antibacterial activity[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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