''Herniaria hirsuta'' is a species of flowering plant in the family
Caryophyllaceae
Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranth ...
known by the common name hairy rupturewort.
It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, and it is known on other continents, including North America, as an
introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...
. This is an annual herb with stems up to long usually growing prostrate along the ground. The small, fuzzy, pale green leaves are up to about a centimeter long and coat the stems. The
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 appear in the leaf axils. Each contains three to eight hairy green
sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106
Etymology
The term ''sepalum'' ...
s and no petals. The fruit is a tiny bumpy
utricle containing one seed.
This plant is used in
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
as an
herbal remedy for
kidney stones
Kidney stone disease (known as nephrolithiasis, renal calculus disease, or urolithiasis) is a crystallopathy and occurs when there are too many minerals in the urine and not enough liquid or hydration. This imbalance causes tiny pieces of cr ...
.
[Atmani, F., et al. (2003). Prophylaxis of calcium oxalate stones by ''Herniaria hirsuta'' on experimentally induced nephrolithiasis in rats. '' British Journal of Urology International'' 92:1 137-40.][Atmani, F. (2004). Effect of aqueous extract from ''Herniaria hirsuta'' L. on experimentally nephrolithiasic rats. '']Journal of Ethnopharmacology
The ''Journal of Ethnopharmacology'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering the traditional medicinal use of plants and other substances. It is the official journal of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology. The journal is included ...
'' 95:1 87-93.[Atmani, F. (2004). Extract from ''Herniaria hirsuta'' coats calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals and blocks their adhesion to renal epithelial cells. ''Journal of Urology'' 172:4 1510-14.]
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaPhoto gallery: ssp. ''cinerea''
hirsuta
Flora of Lebanon
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Caryophyllaceae-stub