1303

                                                    Boerhavia diffusa L.

Synonym	:	Boerhavia adscendence Willd.
Family	:	Nyctaginaceae
Local name	:	English-  Pigweed Malayalam- Thazhuthama
Flowering and fruiting period	:	August - December
Distribution	:	Pantropical
Distribution in kerala	:	All Districts
Habitat	:	Moist and dry deciduous forests and also in the plains
Endemic /Exotic		Endemic to India, the Pacific, and southern United States.
Uses	:	Whole plant is used to stimulate the function of heart and kidney; specific for jaundice, anaemia, cardiac diseases, stomach disorders, pain, piles, urinary calculi, diabetes, general debility and oedema.
Key botanical characters :  Herbs with long trailing branches; stem reddish, tomentose. Leaves simple, unequal, ovate, obtuse, undulate along margins, truncate to subcordate at base, tomentose, very variable in size; Flowers purplish red to reddish pink ,bell shaped beyond the constriction, in axillary or terminal, peduncled umbels; bracts 5, ovate, glandular. Perianth pink. Stamens 3. Capsule clavate, 5-ribbed, glandular.