Boerhavia coccinea
Boerhavia diffusa
hierba de la hormiga, hierba del cancer, red boerhaavia, red spiderling, scarlet spiderling
red spiderling, spreading hogweed
prostrate to decumbent, usually profusely branched throughout, 3–15 dm, minutely pubescent, often glandular, sometimes spreading villous or hirsute in basal portions, minutely pubescent, sometimes glandular, glabrate, or glabrous distally.
decumbent, ascending, or erect, usually profusely branched throughout, 3–10 dm, glabrous or minutely pubescent basally, glabrous or sparsely pubescent distally.
usually distributed throughout plant and into much of inflorescence;
larger leaves with petiole 5–25 mm, blade broadly lanceolate, ovate, or broadly ovate, occasionally ± round, 20–70 × 10–60 mm (distal leaves smaller, often proportionally narrower), base truncate, broadly cuneate, or round, rarely cordate, margins sinuate, apex acute to obtuse or round, adaxial surface glabrous or sometimes sparsely puberulent, rarely densely glandular-pubescent, abaxial surface paler than adaxial surface, glabrous or sometimes sparsely puberulent, rarely densely glandular-pubescent, often with large multicellular hairs along veins, neither surface punctate.
mostly in basal 1/2 of plant;
larger leaves with petiole 10–30 mm, blade broadly lanceolate, ovate, or broadly ovate, occasionally ± round, 20–60 × 15–50 mm (distal leaves smaller, often proportionally narrower), base truncate, broadly cuneate, round, or shallowly cordate, often oblique, margins sinuate, apex obtuse to round, abaxial surface paler than adaxial, glabrous or minutely puberulent, sometimes glandular, usually with few large multicellular hairs on veins, adaxial surface glabrous, rarely sparsely puberulent, neither surface punctate.
axillary or terminal, forked unequally ca. 3–6 times, open, without sticky internodal bands;
branches divergent, terminating in compact subumbellate or capitate 5-flowered clusters.
terminal, forked ca. 3–6 times ± equally, diffuse, occasionally with sticky internodal bands;
branches divergent, terminating in compact subumbellate or capitate, 2–5-flowered clusters.
pedicel shorter than 0.5 mm;
bract at base of perianth usually quickly deciduous, 1, linear-lanceolate to ovate, 0.5–1 mm;
perianth maroon, or magenta (or rarely white or yellow) [pink], campanulate beyond constriction, 1–3.5 mm;
stamens 2–3, slightly exserted.
pedicel shorter than 0.5 mm;
bract at base of perianth quickly deciduous, 1, lanceolate, 0.8–1 mm;
perianth purplish red to reddish pink or nearly white, campanulate beyond constriction, 1–1.5 mm;
stamens 2–3, included or barely exserted.
(2–)5–20(–30) per cluster, gray-brown to brown, narrowly obovate and tapering at both ends or clavate, 2.6–4 × 0.9–1.2 mm (l/w: 2.7–3.5), apex rounded to rounded-conic, moderately densely to densely stipitate-glandular on ribs and in sulci;
ribs 5, rounded, smooth;
sulci 1–2.5 times as wide as base of ribs, not rugose, not papillate.
(1–)2–5(–9) per cluster, gray-brown to brown, obpyramidal, (3–)3.5–4.5 × 1–1.2 mm (l/w: 2.8–4.1), apex broadly conic, with sparse or moderately dense stipitate-glandular hairs on ribs, less densely pubescent or glabrous in sulci [rarely entirely glabrous];
ribs 5, round, smooth;
sulci ± 2–2.5 times as wide as base of ribs, not rugose, not papillate.
= 52.
= 26, 52, 54, 116.
Boerhavia coccinea
Boerhavia diffusa
Boerhavia coccinea is weedy and probably adventive along the Gulf and southern Atlantic coasts in North America; it can be expected in waste areas anywhere in that region. Worldwide, it probably also has a broader range than indicated, particularly on oceanic islands. The complex, which is in need of taxonomic clarification, is extremely variable with regard to robustness, pubescence, and fruit number in individual terminal inflorescences. In the New World, flowers are usually some shade of deep wine red, although populations of white-flowered or yellow-flowered plants are rarely found (R. Spellenberg 2000). In the Old World, pink-flowered plants are frequent (C. Whitehouse 1996).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Boerhavia diffusa belongs to a pantropical complex whose distribution, because of differing taxonomic treatments, is not precisely discernable. In North America, the West Indies, and elsewhere, the complex has been treated as having one (e.g., R. W. Long and O. Lakela 1971; R. P. Wunderlin 1998) or two species (E. A. Kellogg 1988; J. K. Small 1913c; P. C. Standley 1918; C. Whitehouse 1996). In the latter situation various binomials have been used. The abrupt bend in the ribs near the fruit apex, making a broadly conic apex, seems to be a useful character for distinguishing most B. diffusa. The shape of the apex, the sparse pubescence of the fruit, the few fruits in individual terminal clusters, and the open, ± leafless inflorescence may have led R. E. Woodson Jr. and H. J. Kidd (1961) to suspect hybridization of this complex with the annual B. erecta. Hybridization is plausible (R. Spellenberg 2000), but clearly intermediate plants are not known.
The leaves are sometimes used as a vegetable (C. Whitehouse 1996). Extracts from roots are used to prepare an expectorant, a diuretic, and a laxative, and in treating asthma (S. P. Ambasta 1986).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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