Code
PYLNI
Growth form
Broadleaf
Biological cycle
Annual
Habitat
Terrestrial
synonym | Diasperus niruri (L.) Kuntze |
synonym | Niruris annua Raf. |
synonym | Nymphanthus niruri (L.) Lour. |
synonym | Phyllanthus niruri var. genuinus Müll.Arg., nom. inval. |
Spanish; Castilian |
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Global description
Phyllanthus niruri is an erect annual herbaceous plant entirely glabrous, about fifty 50cm high. The simple leaves are alternate and distichous, oblong, base asymmetrical and rounded tip, and paler on the underside. The flowers with separate sexes are axillary on twigs, males at the top, females at the bottom. They are small, greenish, without petals, sepals and reduced to a disc lined with glands bearing stamens or ovary. The fruit is a trigonous flattened globular capsule. It contains 6 seeds wedge covered with small warts, a dark grey to brown.
Cotyledons
Cotyledons are petiolate, elliptical, with rounded base and apex.
Underground system
A taproot
Stem
The stem is cylindrical in section, smooth and furrowed, glabrous. The branches are slightly angular.
Leaf
The leaves are simple and alternate, distichous, numbering from 15 to 35 per branch (the branches may look like compound leaves). Petiole very short, measuring 0.4 to 0.7 mm long. The base of the branches is framed by two short stipules linear-lanceolaten attenuated, brownish color. The limb is oblong, rounded and markedly asymmetrical at the base and rounded at apex. It measures 5 to 17 mm long and 2.5 to 9 mm wide. The lateral veins are hardly visible. It is a pale green on its underside. Both sides are smooth.
Flower
The flowers on the branches, solitary in leaf axils. The sexes are separate. The male flowers are at the bottom of the twig, the female flowers at the top. These flowers are small and greenish, all with 6 sepals elliptic to cuneate apex. The male flowers are made of a disc composed of 6 glands in cut edges rounded lobes 6-7 stamens and 3 are attached to the anthers which have horizontal dehiscence. The female flowers consist of a central disc composed of three glands that look like little hands; the ends are divided into four lobes that resemble fingers. The style is very short.
Fruit
The fruit is a globular capsule flattened to 3 cells, 2 to 3 mm in diameter that hangs beneath the branches, in leaf axils. It is straw-colored. It contains 6 seeds, at 2 per cell.
Seed
The seed is wedge-shaped measuring 1 to 1.8 mm long. It is marked from 6 to 7 longitudinal lines on the back and covered with small warts. Its color varies from dark gray to brown.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Characters to distinguish some Phyllanthus spp.
Habit | Leaves along main axis |
Stem | Flowers on branches |
Female flower pedicel |
Sepals | Disc | Species |
subwoody erect |
yes | cylindrical green blue |
base 1 ♀ milieu 1 ♀ + 1-2 ♂ apex 1-2 ♂ |
short 1,5-2 mm |
6 | 5 free lobes | P. maderaspatensis |
herbaceouserect | no | cylindrical dark green |
2 ♀ + 2 ♂ |
long and pendent |
5 | orbicular disc | P. tenellus |
herbaceous erect |
no | cylindrical green to purpel |
base 2-3 ♂ apex 1 ♀ |
short 1-2 mm |
5 | stellate disc | P. niruroides |
herbaceous erect |
no | cylindrical light green |
base 1-3 ♂ apex 1 ♂ + 1 ♀ |
short 2 mm |
5 | 5lobed disc | P. amarus |
herbaceous erect |
no |
cylindrical green |
base 3-7 ♂ apex 1 ♀ |
medium |
5 | pentagonal disc |
P. niruri |
herbaceous prostrate to erect |
no | tetragonal winged redish | base 1 ♀ apex 2-4 ♂ |
short 0,5-1 mm |
6 | ondulate disc | P. urinaria |
subwoody erect to prostrate |
no | cylindrical green |
base 2-4 ♂ apex 1 ♀ |
medium 5 mm |
6 | orbicular disc | P. virgatus |
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Origin
Phyllanthus niruri is native to tropical Central and South America.
Worldwide distribution
Beyond tropical America, this species is present in western, eastern and southern Africa, in the islands of the Indian Ocean (Madagascar, Mayotte, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles), India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Local harmfulness
Benin: Phyllanthus niruri is a frequent but not abundant weed in rice fields.
Mali: Rare but abondant when present in rice fields.
Senegal: Frequent but not abundant in rice fields.
Uganda: Rare and not abundant in rice fields.
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Global control
For recommandations on weed management of irrigated and lowland rice in Africa, visit
For weeding Advice for broadleaf annual weeds of irrigated and lowland rice in Africa, visit:
http://portal.wiktrop.org/document/show/20
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT : https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=Phyllanthus%2520niruri
Attributions | Wiktrop |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Root | Root |
Kingdom | Plantae |
Phylum | Tracheophyta |
Class | Magnoliopsida |
Order | Malpighiales |
Family | Phyllanthaceae |
Genus | Phyllanthus |
Species | Phyllanthus niruri L. |