Boerhavia coccinea

Miller

Gard. Dict. ed. 8, Boerhavia no. 4. 1768.

Common names: Red spiderling scarlet spiderling hierba del cancer hierba de la hormiga
Illustrated
Synonyms: Boerhavia caribaea Jacquin Boerhavia viscosa Lagasca & Rodríguez
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 4. Treatment on page 20. Mentioned on page 18.

Herbs, perennial, often ± woody at base; taproot long and ropelike, woody. Stems prostrate to decumbent, usually profusely branched throughout, 3–15 dm, minutely pubescent, often glandular, sometimes spreading villous or hirsute in basal portions, minutely pubescent, sometimes glandular, glabrate, or glabrous distally. Leaves usually distributed throughout plant and into much of inflorescence; larger leaves with petiole 5–25 mm, blade broadly lanceolate, ovate, or broadly ovate, occasionally ± round, 20–70 × 10–60 mm (distal leaves smaller, often proportionally narrower), base truncate, broadly cuneate, or round, rarely cordate, margins sinuate, apex acute to obtuse or round, adaxial surface glabrous or sometimes sparsely puberulent, rarely densely glandular-pubescent, abaxial surface paler than adaxial surface, glabrous or sometimes sparsely puberulent, rarely densely glandular-pubescent, often with large multicellular hairs along veins, neither surface punctate. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, forked unequally ca. 3–6 times, open, without sticky internodal bands; branches divergent, terminating in compact subumbellate or capitate 5-flowered clusters. Flowers: pedicel shorter than 0.5 mm; bract at base of perianth usually quickly deciduous, 1, linear-lanceolate to ovate, 0.5–1 mm; perianth maroon, or magenta (or rarely white or yellow) [pink], campanulate beyond constriction, 1–3.5 mm; stamens 2–3, slightly exserted. Fruits (2–) 5–20 (–30) per cluster, gray-brown to brown, narrowly obovate and tapering at both ends or clavate, 2.6–4 × 0.9–1.2 mm (l/w: 2.7–3.5), apex rounded to rounded-conic, moderately densely to densely stipitate-glandular on ribs and in sulci; ribs 5, rounded, smooth; sulci 1–2.5 times as wide as base of ribs, not rugose, not papillate. 2n = 52.


Phenology: Flowering spring–winter [year-round].
Habitat: Roadsides, weedy areas, upper beaches, rocky slopes, gravelly outwash fans, arroyos in tropical scrub, arid grasslands, desert scrub, pinyon-juniper woodlands
Elevation: 0-2000 m

Distribution

V4 27-distribution-map.gif

Ala., Ariz., Calif., Fla., La., Md., Nev., N.Mex., N.C., S.C., Tex., Va., Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, Australia

Discussion

Boerhavia coccinea is weedy and probably adventive along the Gulf and southern Atlantic coasts in North America; it can be expected in waste areas anywhere in that region. Worldwide, it probably also has a broader range than indicated, particularly on oceanic islands. The complex, which is in need of taxonomic clarification, is extremely variable with regard to robustness, pubescence, and fruit number in individual terminal inflorescences. In the New World, flowers are usually some shade of deep wine red, although populations of white-flowered or yellow-flowered plants are rarely found (R. Spellenberg 2000). In the Old World, pink-flowered plants are frequent (C. Whitehouse 1996).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"thin" is not a number."dm" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Boerhavia coccinea"
glandular-pubescent +, puberulent +  and glabrous +
glandular-pubescent +, puberulent +  and glabrous +
acute;obtuse or round +
Richard W. Spellenberg +
Miller +
glutinous +
symmetric +  and asymmetric +
deciduous +
cordate +, round +, cuneate +  and truncate +
unequal +
woody +, leathery +  and fleshy +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
round;ovate;ovate;ovate;ovate;lanceolate +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
deciduous +  and persistent +
distinct +
linear-lanceolate +  and ovate +
minute +  and not accrescent +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
5-flowered +, capitate +, subumbellate +  and compact +
cluster +  and divergent +
corollalike +  and petaloid +
Red spiderling +, scarlet spiderling +, hierba del cancer +  and hierba de la hormiga +
Ala. +, Ariz. +, Calif. +, Fla. +, La. +, Md. +, Nev. +, N.Mex. +, N.C. +, S.C. +, Tex. +, Va. +, Mexico +, West Indies +, Central America +, South America +, Eurasia +, Africa +  and Australia +
0-2000 m +
curved +  and straight +
inconspicuous +  and showy +
1 +  and 80 +
chasmogamous +  and bisexual +
5 +  and 20 +
obpyramidal +, obovoid +, oblong-clavate +, clavate +  and fusiform +
coriaceous +
Roadsides, weedy areas, upper beaches, rocky slopes, gravelly outwash fans, arroyos in tropical scrub, arid grasslands, desert scrub, pinyon-juniper woodlands +
multicellular +
thyrsiform +, cymose +  and pedunculate +
terminal +  and axillary +
3-6 times open without sticky internodal bands +
distributed +
unequal +
(4-)5-lobed +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (?) +
magenta;maroon;magenta;maroon +
campanulate +
constricted +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
Flowering spring–winter [year-round]. +
Gard. Dict. ed. +
glandular-pubescent +, glabrous +  and smooth +
rounded +
thick +  and thin +
fibrous;fleshy +
membranaceous +
ribbed +, 10-ribbed +  and 5-ribbed +
pubescent +, glabrous +  and warty +
wrinkled +
Illustrated +
prostrate +  and decumbent +
erect +, ascending +  and decumbent +
glabrous +, glabrate +, glandular +, pubescent +, hirsute +, villous +  and spreading +
fusiform +  and linear +
filiform +
not papillate +  and not rugose +
1-2.5 times as wide as base +
Boerhavia caribaea +  and Boerhavia viscosa +
Boerhavia coccinea +
Boerhavia +
species +
umbellate +, subumbellate +, spicate +  and cymose +
capitate +  and subcapitate +
singly +  and racemose +
gland-tipped +
expanded +
pubescent +, glabrous +  and glandular +
fusiform +  and ropelike +