Turnera ulmifolia
L.
Passifloraceae
Turnera alba Liebm.
Turnera angustifolia Mill.
Turnera caerulea DC.
Turnera mollis Kunth
Turnera peruviana Willd. ex Roem. & Schult.
Turnera trioniflora Sims
Turnera velutina C.Presl
Common Name:
Flowering plant, growing in a crack in a wall.
Photograph by: Patrice78500
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Close-up of a flower
Photograph by: Patrice78500
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
General Information
Turnera ulmifolia is an erect perennial plant with stems that can become woody. It usually grows up to 75cm tall[
331- Title
- Flora of Guatemala
- Publication
-
- Author
- Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark
- Website
- http://www.archive.org/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 1946 - 1976
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
].
The plant is gathered from the wild for local used as a tea and medicine. It is sometimes cultivated for its medicinal uses[
].
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
331- Title
- Flora of Guatemala
- Publication
-
- Author
- Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark
- Website
- http://www.archive.org/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 1946 - 1976
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
Range
S. America - Brazil, Bolivia, to Venezuela; Caribbean - Trinidad to the Bahamas; C. America - Panama to Mexico; southeast N. America - Florida.
Habitat
Savannahs or stony fields or hillsides, often on open banks, or as a weed in waste ground, sometimes on limestone, at elevations up to 1,200 metres in Guatemala[
331- Title
- Flora of Guatemala
- Publication
-
- Author
- Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark
- Website
- http://www.archive.org/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 1946 - 1976
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
].
Properties
| Weed Potential | Yes |
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Habit | Perennial |
| Height | 0.75 m |
| Cultivation Status | Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild |
Cultivation Details
The plant is widely cultivated as an ornamental in the tropics, where it often escapes from cultivation. It is reported to be invasive in several Pacific Islands[
].
Plants can become rather leggy if they are not pruned back regularly[
372- Title
- Flowers of India
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.flowersofindia.net/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A wed site of native Indian plants, plus cultivated and naturalized species. It has good quality photos and terse details on more than 3,000 species and cultivars.
].
Plants flower and fruit all year round[
426- Title
- Flowering Plants of Jamaica
- Publication
-
- Author
- Adams. C.D.
- Publisher
- University of the West Indies; Jamaica.
- Year
- 1972
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A terse treatment of the flowering plants of Jamaica, with a botanical description of each plant, notes on habitat etc.
].
Edible Uses
The dried leaves are used as a tea substitute or as a flavouring[
301- Title
- Cornucopia II
- Publication
-
- Author
- Facciola. S.
- Publisher
- Kampong Publications, California.
- Year
- 1998
- ISBN
- 0-9628087-2-5
- Description
- The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
].
Medicinal
The plant has medicinal uses[
].
The leaves are used for treating hair loss and thrush[
348- Title
- Medicinal Plants of the Guianas
- Publication
-
- Author
- DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J.
- Website
- http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html
- Publisher
- Smithsonian Museum
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
].
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed -
Cuttings
Division
If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.
Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
