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Oldenlandia diffusa

Common name:	Snake-Needle Grass	Family:	Rubiaceae
Author:	(Willd.)Roxb.	Botanical references:
Synonyms:	Hedyotis diffusa (Willd.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea and Formosa.
Habitat:	Moist ground and fields[238]. A weed of gardens and fields[147].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Bai Hua She She Cao [E], Bunga Chakar Ayam [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	diffusa = spreading
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rubiales. Madder family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China India Malaya Philippines Singapore

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.3m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 8. It is in flower from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Alterative Anodyne Antibacterial Antiinflammatory Antitumor Cardiotonic Depurative Diuretic Febrifuge Sedative.

Snake-needle grass is a pleasant-tasting cooling, alterative herb that lowers fever, reduces inflammation, relieves pain and is diuretic and antibacterial[238]. It acts mainly on the liver and also stimulates the immune system[238].
The whole plant is alterative, anodyne, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, cardiotonic, depurative, diuretic, febrifuge and sedative[147, 176, 238]. The plant is harvested in the summer and dried for later use[238]. It is taken internally in the treatment of fevers, coughs, asthma, jaundice, impure blood, urinary tract infections, acute appendicitis, biliousness and cancers of the digestive tract[176, 238, 240]. Externally, it is used in the treatment of snake bites, boils, abscesses and severe bruising[176, 238].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers growing in a damp soil in partial shade[238].
This species is not very hardy outdoors in Britain, tolerating temperatures down to about -5° c[238]. It should be possible to grow it as a spring-sown annual in most parts of the country[K].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in situ.

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.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Hedyotis diffusa (a possible synonym).

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

References for the family Rubiaceae.

To be included in 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

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[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.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Oldenlandia+diffusa
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Oldenlandia+diffusa

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.