Phyllanthus tenellus

Phyllanthus tenellus is a herbaceous plant in the leafflower family, Phyllanthaceae. It is commonly called Mascarene Island leaf flower as it is native to the Mascarene Islands. It is often a weed in flower beds, gardens, roadsides, and other disturbed areas.

Description

It grows to be tall. The main stem does not have leaves but rather small scales and the secondary stems contain the flowers and leaves. The flowers are inconspicuous, small, and unisexual. Male and female flowers are located on the same plant.

Taxonomy

It was originally published in William Roxburgh's 1814 Hortus Bengalensis and later validated in his 1832 Flora Indica.
It has two accepted varieties:

Phyllanthus tenellus var. arabicus Müll.Arg.
''Phyllanthus tenellus var. tenellus''

Distribution

In addition to the Mascarene Islands, P. tenellus is possibly also native to eastern Africa, other western Indian Ocean islands, and the Arabian Peninsula. It has become a naturalized weed in tropical and subtropical areas, including Australia, Mexico, South America, Eastern North America, as well as Mediterranean region, parts of Asia and the West Indies.