Linderniaceae
Vandellia

Vandellia diffusa L.

First published in Mant. Pl.: 89 (1767)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is NE. Türkiye to Caucasus, Tropical Africa, Madagascar. It is an annual or subshrub and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome. It is used to treat unspecified medicinal disorders, as a poison and a medicine and for food.

Descriptions

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Amazonia, Andean, Guiana Shield, Caribbean, Orinoquia. Elevation range: 100–1500 m a.s.l. Naturalised in Colombia. Colombian departments: Amazonas, Antioquia, Bolívar, Boyacá, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Chocó, Cundinamarca, Guainía, Guaviare, Magdalena, Meta, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Santander, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupés, Vichada.
Habit
Herb.
Conservation
IUCN Red List Assessment (2021): LC. National Red List of Colombia (2021): Potential LC.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, savanna, shrubland, native grassland, wetlands (inland), artificial - terrestrial.
[UPFC]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/19620537/140421645

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular
coneja, cuartillo, oreja de ratón, paraguay, yerba anís, yerba de pollo, yerba pollo
[UNAL]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

The Useful Plants of Boyacá project

Ecology
Alt. 100 - 1500 m.
Morphology General Habit
Herb.
Distribution
Native from Colombia.
Conservation
Not Evaluated.
[UPB]

Scrophulariaceae, S.A. Ghazanfar, F.N. Hepper & D. Philcox. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2008

Type
Lectotype: Virgin Is, St. Thomas, Browne s.n., Herb. Linn. No. 795.3 (LINN), designated by Edmondson in Davis (ed.), Fl. Turkey 6 : 680 (1978)
Morphology General Habit
Annual, much branched, prostrate, 2.5–5 cm tall.
Morphology Stem
Stems up to 20 cm long, often rooting at lower nodes, quadrangular but not sharply so, short, white, patent hirsute throughout, mainly on angles
Morphology Leaves
Leaves broadly ovate to subcircular, 12–19 (–25) mm long, 9–15(–19) mm wide, rounded to broadly cuneate at base, apex obtuse, margins finely crenate-serrate, glabrous above, shortly spreading hirsute on major veins beneath, somewhat densely ciliolate, 3-veined from base with mid vein once or twice clearly pinnately branched
Morphology Leaves Petiole
Petioles 1–2 mm long, densely hairy
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers solitary in axils mostly of upper leaves; pedicels 2–3.5 mm long in flower, extending to 4–8 mm in fruit, rather stout, densely hairy, ascending in fruit, never reflexed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx prominently 5ribbed, 3.5–4.5 mm long in flower, patent white-hirsute; lobes narrowly lanceolate to subulate, 1.8–2(–2.5) mm long, acuminate, ciliate; lobes accrescent to 3–5 mm long, widely spreading and distorted after dehiscence of capsule
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white or cream (“mauve blue”, Thomas 853), 5–6 mm long, tube ± 4.5 mm long; upper lip shallowly emarginate or minutely irregularly toothed; lower lip somewhat deeply 3-lobed with median lobe rounded to subtruncate, minutely dentate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 4, fertile; anterior filaments geniculate, gibbous at base below geniculation, minutely yellow-glandular
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule oblong-ellipsoid, 7–7.5(–12) mm long, 2–3.5 mm broad
Figures
Fig 24, p 79
Ecology
Forest borders, damp grassland surrounding lakes and other standing water, path and roadsides; 1100–1250 m
Conservation
Least Concern (LC)
Distribution
Flora districts: T1 T 3 (fide Iverson, Usambara rain forest project, Uppsala, 1988). %West Africa from Sierra Leone to Cameroon, Gabon, Congo (Brazzaville), Central African Republic, Congo-Kinshasa, Burundi, Madagascar, Central and South America Flora districts: U3 U4
[FTEA]

Distribution
Found in Boyacá, Colombia.
Vernacular
Oreja de ratón, Paraguay, Yerba de pollo
[UPFC]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Nativa en Colombia; Alt. 100 - 1500 m.; Amazonia, Andes, Guayana y Serranía de La Macarena, Llanura del Caribe, Orinoquia, Valle del Magdalena.
Morphology General Habit
Hierba
Conservation
Preocupación Menor
[CPLC]

Uses

Use Food
Used for food.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
Use Poisons
Poisons.
[UPFC]

Use Medicines Unspecified Medicinal Disorders
Medicinal (State of the World's Plants 2016, Instituto Humboldt 2014).
[UPB]

Use
None recorded on specimens from our area
[FTEA]

Common Names

Spanish
Paraguay, yerba de pollo, oreja de ratón.

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Colombian resources for Plants made Accessible

    • ColPlantA 2021. Published on the Internet at http://colplanta.org
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants of Boyacá Project

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/