''Boerhavia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of over 100

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in the

Nyctaginaceae Nyctaginaceae, the four o'clock family, is a family of around 33 genera and 290 species of flowering plants, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with a few representatives in temperate regions. The family has a distinctive fr ...

family. The genus was named for

Herman Boerhaave Herman Boerhaave (, 31 December 1668 – 23 September 1738Underwood, E. Ashworth. "Boerhaave After Three Hundred Years." ''The British Medical Journal'' 4, no. 5634 (1968): 820–25. .) was a Dutch chemist, botanist, Christian humanist, and ph ...

, a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

botanist, and the genus name is frequently misspelled "''Boerhaavia''". Common names include spiderlings and hogweeds.

Taxonomy

There are over 100 species in the genus ''Boerhavia'', which is in the family

, which includes the four o'clock flower. The genus was named for the Dutch botanist Herman Boerhaave, and often misspelt as "Boerhaavia". Common names include spiderlings and hogweeds.

Description

Some species are annuals and others

perennials In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

. In

habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...

they generally are

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

. "Spiderling" refers to the appearance of those species that bear

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s on numerous long, slender stems, interlocking in a manner suggestive of a

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

or spider's web. ''Boerhavia'' species generally are native to warm tropical regions.

Significance

Several species of ''Boerhavia'' are of importance as agricultural and horticultural weeds. Some are valued as

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...

for grazing livestock, and some, such as '' Boerhavia erecta'', also are of use as human food and

folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

Selected species

Species include: *'' Boerhavia anisophylla'' Torr. – wineflower *'' Boerhavia boissieri'' *''

Boerhavia coccinea ''Boerhavia coccinea'' is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family which is known by many common names, including tar vine scarlet spiderling and red boerhavia. Description This plant grows in a wide variety of habitats, includ ...

'' P.Mill. – scarlet spiderling *'' Boerhavia coulteri'' (Hook.f.) S.Wats. - Coulter spiderling, Coulter's spiderling *'' Boerhavia diffusa'' L. – red spiderling *'' Boerhavia dominii'' Meikle & Hewson – tah-vine *'' Boerhavia elegans'' *'' Boerhavia erecta'' L. – erect spiderling *'' Boerhavia gracillima'' Heimerl – slim-stalk spiderling, slimstalk spiderling *'' Boerhavia herbstii'' Fosberg – alena *'' Boerhavia linearifolia'' Gray – narrowleaf spiderling *'' Boerhavia mathisiana'' F.B.Jones – Mathis' spiderling *'' Boerhavia megaptera'' Standl. – annual spiderling, Tucson Mountain spiderling *'' Boerhavia pterocarpa'' S.Wats. – Apache Pass spiderling *'' Boerhavia purpurascens'' Gray – purple spiderling *'' Boerhavia repens'' L. *'' Boerhavia scandens'' L. – climbing spiderling, climbing wartclub, wishbone vine *'' Boerhavia spicata'' Choisy – creeping spiderling *'' Boerhavia tetrandra'' G.Forst. Range:

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...

, Pacific islands,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

. Native names across the Pacific Islands include runa, paikea, tiale katuli, tiare katuri, katuri, naunau, and momoe. Found on

Bramble Cay Bramble Cay, also known as Maizab Kaur (also spelt Maizub Kaur) and Massaramcoer, is a small cay located at the northeastern edge of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands of Queensland and at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef. Lying ...

in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...

, and eaten as a type of

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...

by humans. *'' Boerhavia triquetra'' S.Wats. – slender spiderling *'' Boerhavia wrightii'' Gray – Wright's boerhavia

Gallery

Boerhavia diffusa in AP W2 IMG 8087.jpg, '' Boerhavia diffusa'' in

Amaravathi village, Guntur district Amaravathi is a village located on the banks of the Krishna River in the Palnadu district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It serves as the administrative centre of Amaravathi mandal and lies within the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region. Known for its cu ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Boerhavia erecta in Hyderabad W IMG 8889.jpg, '' Boerhavia erecta'' in

Hyderabad, India Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. Boerhavia erecta in Hyderabad W IMG 8887.jpg, ''B. erecta'' in Hyderabad Boerhavia erecta in Hyderabad W IMG 8886.jpg, ''B. erecta'' in Hyderabad Boerhavia (7596963712).jpg

References

Nyctaginaceae genera Nyctaginaceae {{Caryophyllales-stub