Phyllanthus niruri
Phyllanthus evanescens
gale of the wind
birdseed leafflower
main stems terete, not winged, glabrous; ultimate branchlets subterete, not winged, glabrous.
proximally terete, distally compressed, winged, scabridulous.
on main stems spiral, scalelike;
stipules not auriculate, brown.;
leaves on ultimate branchlets distichous, well developed;
stipules not auriculate, brown;
blade elliptic, 11–20 × 4.5–9 mm, base obtuse to rounded, apex obtuse, both surfaces glabrous.
distichous, all well developed;
stipules auriculate, pale green with pale brown margins;
blade elliptic or oblong, 8–20 × 2.5–10 mm, base obtuse to rounded, apex acute to obtuse, both surfaces glabrous.
cymules or flowers solitary, unisexual, proximal with 3–7 staminate flowers, distal with 1 pistillate flower.
cymules, bisexual, with 1–2(–3) pistillate flowers and 1–3 staminate flowers.
staminate 1.2–1.8 mm, pistillate spreading in fruit, 4–7 mm.
staminate 0.5–0.8 mm, pistillate sharply reflexed in fruit, (1–)1.4–1.8(–2.2) mm.
sepals 5(–6), pale green, flat, 1.5–3 mm;
nectary extrastaminal, 5(–6) glands;
stamens 3, filaments connate 1/2 length.
sepals 5–6, pale brownish green with narrow white margins, flat, 0.5–0.7 mm;
nectary extrastaminal, 5–6 glands;
stamens 3, filaments connate basally to most of length.
sepals 5, green, flat, 3–3.5 mm, pinnately veined;
nectary annular, unlobed.
sepals (5–)6, green (sometimes tinged pink) with narrow white margins, flat, 0.7–1.2 mm, 1-veined;
nectary annular, unlobed.
3.5 mm diam., smooth.
2.8–3.2 mm diam., smooth.
uniformly brown, 1.5–1.8 mm, verrucose.
uniformly brown, 1.3–1.5 mm, irregularly verrucose.
= 26 (Costa Rica).
Phyllanthus niruri
Phyllanthus evanescens
Phyllanthus niruri is found in the flora area only in DeWitt, Fayette, and Lavaca counties (and historically from Gonzales County, where it appears to be extirpated; L. E. Brown and S. J. Marcus 1998); it is widespread in the American tropics. Like P. urinaria, it is widely used in folk medicine and is the subject of intense pharmacological research. Plants from outside the West Indies and Caribbean northern South America often have been segregated as subsp. lathyroides; the differences are trivial and recent authors (G. L. Webster 2001; V. W. Steinmann 2007) did not subdivide the species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Plants from the United States and northeastern Mexico generally have been called Phyllanthus pudens and from the rest of Mexico and Central America P. evanescens. Characters used to distinguish these species (fruiting pedicel length and seed size) overlap broadly and recent authors treat them as synonyms (G. L. Webster 2001; V. W. Steinmann 2007). A report of P. evanescens (as P. pudens) from Arkansas (E. Sundell et al. 1999) is based on introduced plants in a nursery; it does not appear to have become established there. The species is introduced in Alabama, first collected there in 2012.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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