''Stachytarpheta jamaicensis'' is a

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), ...

of plant in the family

Verbenaceae The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. T ...

, native throughout the Caribbean, including

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. It has many common names including blue porterweed, blue snake weed, bastard vervain, Brazilian tea, Jamaica vervain, light-blue snakeweed, and, in St. Croix, worryvine.^source? It usually is found along country roadsides, and it also grows well as a

ruderal A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural for example, wildfires or avalanchesor the consequences of human activities, such as construction ( of roads, of buildings, mining, e ...

plant on disturbed terrain. A similar plant, '' Stachytarpheta cayennensis'', which is an

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

, is sometimes mistaken for ''S. jamaicensis''. It is unclear whether '' S. indica'' is a separate species.

Medicinal Uses

The fresh leaves are consumed in bush tea as a “cooling” tonic and blood cleanser, to treat “asthma” and “ulcerated stomachs”. Tea brewed from this species has been shown to cause a dose-dependent "fall in heblood pressure" of normal rabbits. However, the tea has also been observed to cause a "mild non-dose dependent systematic toxicity" in various tissues throughout the body, "such as congestion, fatty changes, and necrosis in liver, blood vessels, kidney, lung and testis, but the brain, eyes, intestines and heart were essentially normal."

Gallery

File:Stachytarpheta jamaicensis at Aanakkulam.jpg, in Aanakkulam File:Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (Porterweed) in Talakona forest, AP W IMG 8384.jpg, in

Talakona Talakona is situated in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is a resort with waterfalls, dense forests and wildlife. Talakona waterfall is in Sri Venkateswara National Park, Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. With a -fall, Talakona ...

forest, in Chittoor District of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

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 ...

File:Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (Porterweed) in Talakona forest, AP W IMG 8374.jpg, In Talakona forest File:Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (Porterweed) in Talakona forest, AP W IMG 8352.jpg, In Talakona forest File:Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (Porterweed) in Talakona forest, AP W IMG 8329.jpg, In Talakona forest

References

External links

Stachytarpheta indica - Mangrove.my
jamaicensis {{Verbenaceae-stub