Nyctaginaceae FAMILY

Boerhavia erecta

Edibility

1/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

Neonatal tetanus is relatively prevalent in parts of Sudan and this plant is suspected of being a vehicle for the infection^[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual

Growth—

A weed of tropical areas, where it can be found at elevations up to 2,500 metres, growing mainly in areas with seasonal rainfall^{[2, 3]}. Prefers a sunny position^[1]. The plant can become a serious weed of cultivated crops^[2]. It is a common weed in several annual and perennial crops, but causes little damage^[1].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Boerhavia+erecta>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

[1]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
[2]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
[3]African Flowering Plants Database — Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. · http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php ↩︎Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
[4]Traditional Vegetables in Benin — Achigan-Dako E. Et al · Darwin Initiative; International Foundation for Science · 2009 ↩︎Issued as a PDF on the Internet, it contains basic information on over 250 species of plants used for food in Benin.