Boraginaceae FAMILY
Trichodesma zeylanicum
Trichodesma zeylanicum
Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5
Safety & Hazards
The plant is densely rough hairy, irritating to handle[1]. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, with supinine as the principal component, have been isolated from the seeds[2]. These alkaloids are a cumulative liver toxin and so should not be consumed in anything other than small quantities over short periods[PFAF].
Cultivation Details
HabitAnnual/Perennial
Growth—
The plant is often a troublesome weed in farms[1]. It has been recorded as an invasive species in Fiji[3].
Propagation
Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Trichodesma+zeylanicum>
Pollinators
Bees
References
- [1]Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania — Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. · Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. · 2002 · ISBN 9966-896-60-0 ↩︎A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.
- [2]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.
- [3]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.
- [4]Flora Zambesiaca — http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html ↩︎An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎