Phyllanthus niruri
Phyllanthus pentaphyllus
gale of the wind
fivepetal leaf-flower
main stems terete, not winged, glabrous; ultimate branchlets subterete, not winged, glabrous.
main stems and ultimate branchlets terete, not winged, usually glabrous, rarely 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.
on main stems spiral, scalelike;
stipules auriculate, dark brown.;
leaves on ultimate branchlets distichous, well developed;
stipules not auriculate, pale brown to brown;
blade elliptic or obovate to suborbiculate, 2–8 × 1–5 mm, base acute to rounded, apex obtuse to rounded and apiculate, both surfaces glabrous or abaxial scabridulous.
cymules or flowers solitary, unisexual, proximal with 3–7 staminate flowers, distal with 1 pistillate flower.
cymules or flowers solitary, unisexual, staminate distributed along branchlet, with (10–)15–20 flowers, pistillate distributed along branchlet or distal, with 1 flower.
staminate 1.2–1.8 mm, pistillate spreading in fruit, 4–7 mm.
staminate 0.3–0.8 mm, pistillate spreading in fruit, (1–)1.2–1.8(–2.1) 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, pale yellow to white, flat, 0.7–0.8 mm;
nectary extrastaminal, 5 glands;
stamens 2, filaments connate 2/3 length.
sepals 5, green, flat, 3–3.5 mm, pinnately veined;
nectary annular, unlobed.
sepals 5, green with broad white margins, flat, (0.7–)0.9–1.2 mm, obscurely veined;
nectary annular, 5-lobed.
3.5 mm diam., smooth.
1.7–1.9 mm diam., smooth.
uniformly brown, 1.5–1.8 mm, verrucose.
uniformly brown, 0.8–0.9 mm, longitudinally ribbed.
= 26 (Costa Rica).
= 52.
Phyllanthus niruri
Phyllanthus pentaphyllus
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.)
G. L. Webster (1955, 1970) treated the Florida plants of Phyllanthus pentaphyllus as var. floridanus, distinguishing them from those of the West Indies based on the former being dioecious or at least having branchlets that produce flowers of only one sex, and the latter being monoecious with each branchlet bearing both staminate and pistillate flowers. However, he acknowledged that dioecious individuals are found in Cuba and that the distinction between the varieties was weak (Webster 1955, 1956–58). Examination of additional specimens shows that plants with monoecious branchlets are not uncommon in Florida and that dioecious plants are found in both Cuba and the Bahamas; therefore, var. floridanus is not recognized here.
G. L. Webster (1955) treated Phyllanthus polycladus Urban of Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles as a subspecies of P. pentaphyllus. These taxa seem amply different in habit, leaf blade shape and texture, and pistillate nectary shape, and are here considered separate species.
Phyllanthus pentaphyllus in the flora area is restricted to Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, where its rocky pineland habitat is threatened by development. Variety floridanus, when recognized, is regarded as threatened.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
