Borreria ocymoides (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Borreria ocymoides (Burm.f.) DC.

Protologue: Prodr. 4: 544 (1830).

Synonyms

• Spermacoce ocymoides Burm.f. (1768).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: katumpangan (Sundanese), balungan (Javanese), gofu sunyinga (Ternate)
• Malaysia: sajur babi
• Philippines: siksik parang, landrina (Tagalog)
• Vietnam: ruột gà dạng húng.

Distribution

Tropical America, tropical Africa, India, Sri Lanka, continental Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific Islands.

Uses

The dried leaves smell strongly of coumarin. In Peninsular Malaysia, the leaves are applied in a poultice for headache. In Indonesia, the finely crushed leaves are applied to wounds. In Nigeria and Ivory Coast, the sap is used to treat eczema, worms and ringworm.

Observations

• An erect, annual herb, 25-60 cm tall, stems slender, quadrangular
• Leaves narrowly lanceolate or spathulate, 1-–4 cm × 0.2–-1.2 cm, base tapering, apex acute, veins prominent, rough beneath; fascicles axillary, 3-4-flowered, and terminal, 6-8-flowered.
• Calyx (2–-)4-lobed, 1.5 mm long, lobes obconical, slightly dented, apex acute, glabrous or slightly hairy, corolla campanulate, minute, up to 1.5 mm long, white or pink tinged, lobes oblong, inside tube slightly hairy, stamens almost sessile.
• Capsule ovoid, 1.5–-2 mm long, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
• Seed ovoid, 1.2 mm long, reticulate, dark brown.

B. ocymoides occurs in waste places, disturbed soil, along canals and marshes, in grassy fields and along roads, from sea-level up to 650–-1400 m altitude.

Selected sources

• [74] Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1964—1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1964) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
• [134] Burkill, H.M., 1985—2000. The useful plants of West tropical Africa. 2nd Edition. 5 volumes. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. Vol. 1 (1985), Families A—D, 960 pp.; Vol. 2 (1994), Families E—I, 636 pp.; Vol. 3 (1995), Families J—L, 857 pp.; Vol. 4 (1997), Families M—R, 969 pp; Vol. 5 (2000), Families S—Z, 686 pp.
• [135] Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A—H) pp. 1—1240, Vol. 2 (I—Z) pp. 1241—2444.
• [137] Cabral, E.L. & Bacigalupo, N.M., 1996. Revision of Borreria section Pseudodioidia (Rubiaceae-Spermacoceae). Opera Botanica Belgica 7: 309—327.
• [696] Morton, J.F., 1981. Atlas of medicinal plants of Middle America. Bahamas to Yucatan. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, United States. 1420 pp.

Main genus page

• Borreria

Authors

• L.M. Noriel