Boerhavia coccinea
Boerhavia pterocarpa
hierba de la hormiga, hierba del cancer, red boerhaavia, red spiderling, scarlet spiderling
Apache Pass spiderling, wing-fruit spiderling
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.
procumbent or decumbent to ascending, sparingly branched throughout, 1–4 dm, minutely puberulent with bent hairs throughout.
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.
± throughout;
larger leaves with petiole 3–12 mm, blade rhombic-ovate to ovate or lanceolate, 15–25 × 9–15 mm (distal leaves smaller, proportionately narrower), adaxial surface glabrous or sparsely puberulent, abaxial surface paler than adaxial, glabrous, neither surface punctate, base round to obtuse, margins entire or slightly sinuate, apex acute.
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 or axillary, without sticky internodal bands;
peduncle, 1–3 cm, bearing small capitate clusters of flowers.
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 0.3–0.6 mm;
bracts at base of perianth quickly deciduous, lance-acuminate, 0.4–0.7 mm;
perianth white to pale pinkish, campanulate distal to constriction, 1–1.5 mm;
stamens 2, 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.
2–8 per cluster, pale green to straw colored, broadly obpyramidal, base tapered to stipelike above pedicel, 2.9–3.4 × 2.8–3.2 mm (l/w: 1–1.4), apex truncate, glabrous;
ribs 3–4, winglike, smooth;
sulci 3–4 times as wide as base of ribs, coarsely transversely rugose, not papillate.
= 52.
Boerhavia coccinea
Boerhavia pterocarpa
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.)
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