All the annual herbs in Phyllanthus are morphologically close, therefore it is not easy to identify them correctly and as a result there is a lot of confusion[].

Common Name:

General Information

Phyllanthus pentandrus is a delicate, erect or decumbent annual or short-lived, perennial plant; it can grow up to 60cm tall. The stem is little-branched at first, but later becomes much-branched and more or less woody at the base[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Africa - widespread from Mauritania and Senegal to Ethiopia, south to S. Africa.

Habitat

Sandy localities, sometimes amongst stones and rocks, on banks of rivers and dams; dry river beds and lakeside dunes; Brachystegia and mopane woodlands; miombo woodland; grassland and dambos; often as a weed of cultivated and disturbed ground[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Habit	Annual/Perennial
Height	0.50 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A plant decoction is drunk as a treatment for syphilis, and is also used to wash the sores[, ]. A decoction of the whole plant is drunk, and the ashes of the plant are dissolved in water and used as ear drops, as a treatment for earache[].

The leaves and tender young shoots are deobstruent, diuretic, febrifuge, stomachic and tonic[]. A decoction of the shoots is given as a tonic to nursing mothers[]. An infusion of the young shoots is used as a treatment for chronic dysentery[]. The powdered or decocted leaves are given as a treatment for colic and all abdominal pains, dysentery, dropsy, fever, jaundice and the over-secretion of bile[]. An infusion made from the bruised leaves is used in the treatment of gonorrhoea[].
The dried leaves, mixed with butter, are applied to boils and dislocated limbs[].
The leaves are used in a protective dressing with insecticidal properties for wounds in livestock[].

The roots are deobstruent, diuretic and tonic[]. A decoction is drunk to treat fevers and female sterility[, ]. The powdered or decocted roots are given as a treatment for jaundice and over-secretion of bile[].

A test of extracts of the whole plant, looking for effective action on experimental malaria, have proved negative[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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