Flora of North America species comparison

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Turnera ulmifolia

Turnera diffusa

ramgoat dashalong, yellow alder

damiana

Turnera ulmifolia

Turnera diffusa
Distribution
from FNA
FL; LA; s Mexico; Central America; West Indies [Introduced also in tropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Indian Ocean Islands, Pacific Islands, Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX; Mexico; Central America; West Indies; South America (ne Brazil)
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (1 in the flora).

Both varieties of Turnera ulmifolia are homostylous with var. acuta (Sprengel) Urban occurring in Bermuda and the West Indies. Both are used as medicinal plants in the West Indies.

I. Urban (1883) described 12 varieties in Turnera ulmifolia. Experimental studies have demonstrated that this species as he circumscribed it is a polyploid complex in which most of the taxa deserve species status (M. M. Arbo and Aveliano Fernández 1987; Fernández 1997; Fernández and Arbo 2000; J. S. Shore and S. C. H. Barrett 1985; V. G. Solís Neffa and Fernández 2000).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Varieties 2 (1 in the flora).

Turnera diffusa is used extensively as an anticough, diuretic, and aphrodisiac agent. It has antibacterial activity against the most common gastrointestinal diseases of Mexico (T. Hernández et al. 2003). Variety aphrodisiaca (Ward) Urban, with glabrous leaves, grows only in Mexico and West Indies.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 169. FNA vol. 6, p. 167.
Parent taxa Turneraceae > Turnera Turneraceae > Turnera
Sibling taxa
T. coerulea, T. diffusa
T. coerulea, T. ulmifolia
Subordinate taxa
T. ulmifolia var. ulmifolia
T. diffusa var. diffusa
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 271. (1753) Willdenow: in J. J. Roemer et al., Syst. Veg. 6: 679. (1820)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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