Code
BOEDI
Growth form
Broadleaf
Biological cycle
annual
Habitat
terrestrial
synonym | Axia cochinchinensis Lour. |
synonym | Boerhavia adscendens Willd. |
synonym | Boerhavia caespitosa Ridl. |
synonym | Boerhavia ciliatobracteata Heimerl |
synonym | Boerhavia coccinea var. leiocarpa (Heimerl) Standl. |
synonym | Boerhavia coccinea var. paniculata (Kuntze) Moscoso |
synonym | Boerhavia coccinea var. paniculata Moscoso |
synonym | Boerhavia diffusa var. diffusa |
synonym | Boerhavia diffusa var. leiocarpa (Heimerl) C.D.Adams |
synonym | Boerhavia diffusa var. mutabilis R. Br. |
synonym | Boerhavia diffusa var. obtusifolia Choisy |
synonym | Boerhavia diffusa var. paniculata Kuntze |
synonym | Boerhavia diffusa var. pubescens Choisy |
synonym | Boerhavia friesii Heimerl |
synonym | Boerhavia paniculata f. esetosa Heimerl |
synonym | Boerhavia paniculata f. leiocarpa Heimerl |
synonym | Boerhavia paniculata f. multiglandulosa Heimerl ex Parodi |
synonym | Boerhavia paniculata Rich. [Illegitimate] |
synonym | Boerhavia paniculata var. guaranitica Heimerl |
synonym | Boerhavia paniculata var. leiocarpa (Heimerl) Heimerl |
synonym | Boerhavia paniculata var. subacuta Choisy |
synonym | Boerhavia repens var. diffusa (L.) Hook.f. |
synonym | Boerhavia xerophila Domin [Invalid] |
synonym | Commicarpus africanus (Lour.) Dandy |
Comorian |
|
Creoles and pidgins; French-based |
|
Créole Maurice |
|
Créole Réunion |
|
Créole Seychelles |
|
English |
|
Malagasy |
|
Other |
|
Global description
Boerhavia diffusa is prostrate, then is erect, and is characterized by its cotyledons and its opposite leaves of different sizes. The stem is glabrous. The leaves are oval with wavy edge and almost fleshy, margin with multicellular hairs. The flowers, of purple to bright red color, are assembled in loose highly branched cymes. They measure less than one millimeter in diameter and are arranged into small groups of 2 to 5 flowers at the end of a very loose and branched inflorescence. The fruit is a capsule of 4 mm long including 3-5 longitudinal striations and containing small glandular hairs.
Cotyledons
The cotyledons are characterized by their difference in size. They are stalked with a finely pubescent orbicular lamina. One measures 5 mm in diameter, while the other measures 7 mm in diameter.
First leaves
The first leaves are simple and opposite. They are distinctly stalked. The lamina is oval to orbicular with wavy margin. For each pair of leaves, one of them is more developed than the other. From one internode to the other, the position of the large leaf changes.
General habit
B. diffusa first spreads out from the branches, then erect at the end. The plant is branched as from the base, which gives it a task development on the ground reaching up to 40-50 cm in diameter.
Underground system
Taproot system.
Stem
The stem is full and cylindrical. It is glabrous sometimes dotted with a few long hairs. It is often tinged with purple.
Leaf
The leaves are simple and opposite. Each pair of leaf has a large leaf opposite a smaller leaf. The position of the large leaf varies with each pair. They are held by a wide, flat petiole. The lamina is oval to orbicular, 2 to 5 cm long. The base is wide angled and the apex is rounded. The margin is wavy. The two sides are nearly glabrous, almost fleshy, with only a few long hairs along the margin and veins. The lamina contains 4 or 5 arched lateral visible veins.
Inflorescence
The flowers are assembled in axillary and terminal cymes which can be very loose and highly branched. At the top of the axes of the cyme, flowers are grouped in small glomerules of 2 to 5 flowers.
Flower
The flowers are small and measure 4 mm long and 1 mm in diameter. There are two linear leafy bracts of 2 mm long with an acute apex at the base of the flower. The calyx is tubular and consists of 2 parts. The lower part is a glandular ribbed tube containing the ovary. The upper part is a tube ending in 5 petal like rounded lobes. This part is bright red to violet in colour. The corolla is absent. There are 3 to 5 stamens, fixed at the base of the petaloid part of the calyx. The ovary has only one loculus. The style reaches the top of the petaloid calyx.
Fruit
The fruit is an indehiscent capsule, 4 mm long, formed by the lower part of the calyx which is closed at the top when the upper part, petaloid, falls off after fertilization. The fruit is obovoid containing 3-5 longitudinal ridges covered with glandular hairs. It contains only one seed.
Seed
The seed is obovoid, 2 mm long and 1 mm wide. It is ribbed dorsally and presents a wide ventral furrow.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Northern Cameroon: Boerhavia diffusa germinates as from the first rains of May and can germinate throughout the rainy season. Its cycle is very short. The first flowers appear 4 weeks after emergence, quickly followed by fructification. The flowering and fruiting period are spread over more than two months.
Mayotte: Boerhavia diffusa flowers and fruits all year round.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Boerhavia diffusa is an annual species that can be perennial in appropriate soil moisture conditions. It reproduces by seed or by fragmentation of the rhizome during cultural operations.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Boerhavia diffusa can easily be confused with B. coccinea. This species has cymes with 4 to 12 flowers, hairy stems and a lamina with a glabrous margin.
B. diffusa | B. erecta | B. repens | |
---|---|---|---|
Shape of the lamina | oval orbicular | oval lanceolate | |
Hairiness of the margin of the lamina | presence of long hairs | hairless | |
Color of flowers | bright red to violet | pale pink |
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Northern Cameroon: Boerhavia diffusa grows mainly in the Sudano-Sahel and Sudan regions and it is less common further north. It grows on well-structured moist soil. It is especially common or abundant on feralitic soils or silty clay alluvium along streams. This species is light-loving and grows in open places. It is also very nitrophilous: rich soils or fertilizers are very advantageous to it. Although it can be readily removed by repeated weeding, this weed is favored by a mechanical weeding which has the effect of splitting the taproot.
Comoros: ruderal species that grows in old vegetable cultivation, on the edge of the field. It is very abundant in the three islands, in open areas, at low and medium altitude.
Madagascar: highly invasive weed in sub-humid and semi-arid areas of low altitude (West and Southwest). Common in dry areas where it is known for its ability to produce many seeds in a very short time. Grows on all soil types, except waterlogged soils; it is abundant on light soils (silt and red sand) which are still fertile.
Mauritius: Weed occurring in abandoned land, fallow land, along roadsides and cultivated fields. It is found especially in wet areas.
Mayotte: Boerhavia diffusa is a common cryptogenic species in a wide range of natural environments, open and secondarized or even very degraded, especially near the coast and in xerophilic regions. It is found in crops, villages, embankments and wetlands.
Reunion: This ruderal species grows very well on soils rich in nitrogen, humid and especially sunny. The weed is favored by a mechanical weeding which has the effect of splitting the taproot. It occurs mainly on roadsides, on the edge of sugar cane fields or vegetable cultivations. It is especially present in the West and in the South of the island. It is also present in urban and peri-urban.
Seychelles: Species present in forest clearings and abandoned areas. It is rarely abundant.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Origin
Boerhavia diffusa occurs throughout the tropics.
Worldwide distribution
In East-Africa, it is widespread in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from the sea level to about 1500 m.
Attributions | dummy |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Kenya: Frequent but not abundant.
South Africa: Disrtibuted to the entire parts of SA except North West and South West of SA. It occurs in every field including croplands and gardens, it is becoming a problem in the fields.
Tanzania: Frequent but not abundant.
Uganda: Frequent but not abundant.
Attributions | dummy |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Local harmfulness
Benin: rare but abundant when present.
Burkina Faso: rare and scarce.
Northern Cameroon: Boerhavia diffusa is a weed present in 20-30% of cultivated land but is rarely abundant.
Comoros: A major plant pest in the vegetable cultivation. It is also present in the plantations of cassava and banana.
Kenya: frequent and scarce.
Madagascar: B. diffusa is very harmful in cotton farming and cassava plantations.Several weedings are necessary to eliminate competition from the weed. Tillage promotes its multiplication.
Mali: rare and scarce.
Mauritius: A weed of low to medium harmfulness in sugarcane fields but may be important in vegetable cultivations.
Nigeria: rare and scarce.
Uganda: rare but abundant when present.
Reunion: B. diffusa is not a problem for sugarcane because this species prefers sunny areas. However, it is more problem for vegetable cultivations.
Senegal: rare and scarce.
Seychelles: B. diffusa is of low harmfulness.
Tanzania: rare but abundant when present.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Attributions | dummy |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Cultivation: After mechanical cultivation Boerhavia species resprout from the rootstock, but relatively few cultivations are needed to extend their powers of regeneration.
Chemical: Boerhavia diffusa is relatively susceptible to 2,4 D and MCPA and seedlings are readily controlled. A considerable degree of control of established plants can also be obtained. Some regrowth is likely to occur after a single treatment but retreatment normally results in a complete kill. Atrazine has given good results as a pre-emergence treatement in maize in Philippines.
Management recommandations for annual broad-leaved weeds in rice fields: http://portal.wiktrop.org/document/show/20
Local management
Madagascar: Boerhavia diffusa is well controlled in direct seeding by permanent vegetative cover. Manual weeding is possible when the plant is not in abundance. Sensitive to atrazine at pre-emergence and very sensitive to 2,4-D and to glyphosate when young or mature.
Attributions | dummy |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
References |
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT: https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=Boerhavia%2520diffusa
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Root | Root |
Kingdom | Plantae |
Phylum | Tracheophyta |
Class | Magnoliopsida |
Order | Caryophyllales |
Family | Nyctaginaceae |
Genus | Boerhavia |
Species | Boerhavia diffusa L. |