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Boerhavia diffusa

Common name:	Tar Vine	Family:	Nyctaginaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	154, 266
Synonyms:	Boerhavia repens (L.), Boerhavia coccinea (P.Mill.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Australia - New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria.
Habitat:	A pioneer of bare areas[154], usually found on dry sandy soils[193].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	B. diffusa var. gymnocarpa[B,P] B. diffusa var. pseudotetrandra[B,P] B. diffusa var. sandwicensis[B,P] B. diffusa var. tetrandra[B,P] B. glabrata[B,P] Boerhaavia coccinea[E] Boerhaavia diffusa[E] Boerhaavia repens[E]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Anena [P,B], L [E], Liane Manger Cochon [E], Manger Cochon [E], Pega Pollo [E], Pega Pollo Cimarron [E], Punarnava [E], Red Spiderling [P,B], Scarlet Spiderling [P,B], Toston [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	diffusa = spreading;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Four o'clock family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Africa; Angola; Brazil; Dominican Republic; Ghana; Guatemala; Haiti; Hawaii; India; India(Gujarat); India(Santal); Samoa; Sudan; Upper Volta

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.1m by 0.5m . . The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Root; Seed.

Tender young leaves and shoots - cooked and used as a vegetable[144, 154, 177, 272].
Root - baked[144, 154, 177]. Rich in carbohydrate and protein, though the flavour is bland and the texture sometimes woody[193].
Seed - cooked. It can be ground into a powder and added to cereals when making bread, cakes etc[177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antidote; Diuretic; Emetic; Expectorant; Laxative; Stomachic.

The roots are diuretic, emetic, expectorant, laxative and stomachic[152, 240, 243]. They are used in the treatment of asthma, oedema, anaemia, jaundice, ascites, anasarca, scanty urine and internal inflammation. They are also said to be an antidote to snake poisoning[240, 243]. An alkaloid in the roots has been shown experimentally to produce a distinct and persistent rise in blood pressure plus marked diuresis[240].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it could succeed outdoors at least in the milder parts of this country. It is hardy to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[157] but this cannot be translated directly to the British climate because our summers are cooler and our winters longer, colder and wetter. If the plant is capable of surviving our winters it is likely to need a sheltered very sunny position in a well-drained soil.
Most if not all members of this genus have the same edible uses[193].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in a greenhouse in the spring. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Boerhaavia coccinea (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Boerhaavia diffusa (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Boerhaavia repens (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Boerhavia coccinea (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Boerhavia repens (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Nyctaginaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[144] Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976 ISBN 0-00-634436-4
A very good pocket guide.

[152] Lassak. E. V. and McCarthy. T. Australian Medicinal Plants.
A very good and readable guide to the subject.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[157] Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0
A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[193] Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989 ISBN 0-207-14383-8
Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[243] Medicinal Plants of Nepal Dept. of Medicinal Plants. Nepal. 1993
Terse details of the medicinal properties of Nepalese plants, including cultivated species and a few imported herbs.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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