Oldenlandia biflora (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Oldenlandia biflora L.

Protologue: Sp. pl. 1: 119 (1753).

Synonyms

• Hedyotis biflora (L.) Lamk (1792).

Vernacular names

• Philippines: pisek (Ivatan), dalumpang (Subanun), palarapdap (Samar-Leyte Bisaya)
• Thailand: phak khuang, mak dip nam khang, sadao din (Bangkok)
• Vietnam: an diền hai hoa, mai hồng.

Distribution

From Sri Lanka, India and Indo-China to Samoa and eastern Australia; throughout Malesia.

Uses

In the Philippines, the plants are pounded and applied to wounds, and a decoction is administered internally to cure diarrhoea. Besides these uses, traditional doctors in Thailand also use the whole plant for its anti-amoebic and antipyretic properties. In India, it is used to treat fever and stomach complaints. In Vietnam, it is applied to treat snake bites.

Observations

• An erect or prostrate to decumbent, divaricately branched annual herb up to 50 cm long, branches obtusely or acutely 4-angled.
• Leaves oblong, elliptical to narrowly elliptical, up to 8 cm long.
• Flowers in 3-7-flowered cymes, corolla with geniculate lobes, white or occasionally pale blue.
• Fruit turbinate-obovoid.
• Seeds transversely ellipsoid.

O. biflora occurs in sunny or slightly shaded locations, often as a weed, in fields, gardens, roadsides, river banks and open spots in forest up to 300 m altitude.

Selected sources

• [97] Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1963) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
• [537] Halford, D.A., 1992. Review of the genus Oldenlandia L. (Rubiaceae) and related genera in Australia. Austrobaileya 3(4): 683-722.
• [921] Matthew, K.M., 1981-1988. The flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic. 4 volumes. The Rapinat Herbarium, St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli, India.
• [1178] Quisumbing, E., 1978. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. 1262 pp.

Main genus page

• Oldenlandia (Medicinal plants)

Authors

• N.O. Aguilar & R.H.M.J. Lemmens