Euphorbia hirta
Euphorbia hirta is a pantropical weed, originating from the tropical regions of the Americas. It is a hairy herb that grows in open grasslands, roadsides and pathways. It is widely used in traditional herbal medicine across many cultures, particularly for asthma, skin ailments, and hypertension. It is also consumed in herbal tea form as folk medicine for fevers in the Philippines, particularly for dengue fever and malaria.
Description
This erect or prostrate annual herb can grow up to long with a solid stem that is furnished with many yellow to reddish coarse hairs, and produces an abundant white latex. There are stipules present. The leaves have an oblique base and are simple, elliptical to slightly rhombic, hairy, with a finely dentate margin, the veins upperside being deep-set and conspicuous on the underside, and the leaf surface somewhat leathery. Leaves occur in opposite pairs on the stem. The flowers are unisexual and found in axillary cymes at each leaf node, held as dense balls of flowers and fruit capsules usually close to the stem, the flower glands with tiny white/pinkish petal-like appendages. The fruit is a capsule with three valves, uniformly appressed hairy, containing tiny, oblong, four-sided orange to pink or red seeds. It has a white or brown taproot.
Taxonomy
Euphorbia hirta was given its scientific name by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It continues to be classified in the genus Euphorbia within the family Euphorbiaceae. It has no accepted varieties, but has some among its synonyms.
Names
Euphorbia hirta has many common names including garden spurge, pillpod spurge, and hairy spurge. Is is also called by the related names asthma weed, asthma plant and Queensland asthma weed. Additionally it is known as red milkweed and snakeweed.