Common name: Rough Mexican Clover
Botanical name: Richardia scabra Family: Rubiaceae (Coffee family) Synonyms: Richardsonia scabra
Rough Mexican Clover is an annual herb, native to the American continent,
but widely naturalized in tropical world. The root is a taproot and the
stem is branched, erect, fleshy, very hairy and 20-50 cms tall. The
leaves are also velvety and stalkless, oppositely aranged, entire, oblong
or elliptical to lancelike or ovate, 2-4 cm long and 1-1.5 centimeters
wide. The inflorescence is a white flower-head subtended by four leaf
bracts, two longer than the others. The flowers are perfect, have 5 white
petals, and occur in terminal clusters. The calyx is a small whorl
consisting of 5 to 6 pointed lobes. The fruit is a capsule divided into 3
to 4 parts and produces flat, obovate seeds.
Identification credit: Navendu Pāgé
| Photographed in Bangalore. |
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