Persicaria pubescens (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Persicaria pubescens (Blume) Hara

Family: Polygonaceae

Synonyms

• Polygonum leptostachyum de Bruyn,
• P. pubescens Blume,
• P. roettleri Merrill, non Roth.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: siok-siok-rangan (Batak, Sumatra), tuboh lalap, tuboh perpancej (Sumatra)

• Malaysia: kelima paya, kesuma, tebok selydang

• Vietnam: nghể lông ngắn

Distribution

From India throughout continental South-East Asia to Taiwan and Japan, and in Sumatra and Java.

Uses

The leaves are used as a seasoning for food. Medicinally, a decoction with onion is used as a styptic. When used with a young pineapple to procure abortion it mitigates the violent action of the pineapple.

Observations

• Annual to perennial ascending herb, up to 1.7 m tall; stem much branched, often reddish, strigose and glandular, with nodes enlarged.
• Leaves alternate, glandular; petiole up to 1 cm long, with a sheathing base and a prominent, tubular, ciliate ocrea 1-1.5 cm long; blade ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, 5-15 cm x 1.5-2.5 cm.
• Inflorescence a panicle with spike-like branches, terminal or axillary, up to 18 cm long; bracts funnel-shaped.
• Perianth segments 5, white to red; stamens 8; style 3-cleft.
• Fruit an achene, 2-3 mm long, trigonous, blackish-brown.

P. pubescens occurs more often than P. hydropiper in wet locations in mountainous regions, up to 2200 m altitude, but is less common. It also flowers and fruits less abundantly and is sometimes perennial.

Selected sources

• Burkill, I.H., 1935. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. 2 volumes. Crown Agents for the Colonies, London, United Kingdom. 2402 pp. (slightly revised reprint, 1966. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2444 pp.).

• Danser, B.H., 1927. Die Polygonaceen Niederlaendisch-Ostindiens [The Polygonaceae of the Dutch East Indies]. Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg, Série 3, 8(2-3): 117-259.

• Li, Hui‑Lin et al. (Editors), 1975-1979. Flora of Taiwan. 6 volumes. Epoch Publishing Company, Taipei, Taiwan. Second edition (1993- .) edited and published by the Editorial Committee of the Flora of Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan (editor-in-chief: Huang Tseng-Chieng).

Authors

P.C.M. Jansen