Scleromitrion diffusum

Scleromitrion diffusum (Willd.) R.J.Wang (syn: Hedyotis brachypoda R.Br. ex Wall. [Invalid]; Hedyotis diffusa Willd.; Hedyotis diffusa var. extensa (Hook.f.) R.Dutta; Hedyotis extensa R.Br. ex Wall. [Invalid]; Hedyotis polygonoides Wall. [Invalid]; Hedyotis radicans Bartl. ex DC. [Invalid]; Hedyotis ramosissima Kurz [Illegitimate]; Oldenlandia angustifolia var. pedicellata Miq.; Oldenlandia brachypoda G.Don [Illegitimate]; Oldenlandia corymbosa var. uniflora (Benth.) Masam.; Oldenlandia diffusa (Willd.) Roxb.; Oldenlandia diffusa var. extensa Hook.f.; Oldenlandia diffusa var. polygonoides Hook.f.; Oldenlandia herbacea var. uniflora Benth.; Oldenlandia pauciflora Roxb. ex Wight & Arn.) as per Catalogue of Life;

Trop. & Subtrop. Asia as per WCSP;

Andaman Is.; Assam; Bangladesh; Borneo; China South-Central; China Southeast;
East Himalaya; Hainan; India; Japan; Jawa; Korea; Lesser Sunda Is.; Malaya;
Myanmar; Nansei-shoto; Nepal; Nicobar Is.; Philippines; Sri Lanka; Sumatera;
Taiwan; Thailand; Vietnam as per Catalogue of Life;

Small diffuse herbs; stem terete, sparsely pubescent towards nodal regions. Leaves 1-1.5 x c. 1 cm, narrow, linear; stipules sheathing, shortly pectinate on the margins. Flowers axillary, solitary or binate, sessile to shortly pedicelled. Calyx tube subglobose, 1.5-2 cm diam; lobes triangular, to 0.1 cm long. Corolla white; tube 0.1-0.15 cm long; lobes 0.05 cm long. Style shortly exserted; stigma papillate. Capsule ovoid, 0.2 cm long, laterally compressed, dehiscing loculicidally at tip; seeds minute, angular, reticulate.

Flowering and fruiting: August-November

Degraded forest areas, also moist localities in the plains

Tropical and Subtropical Asia and America

(From India Biodiversity Portal

Attributions- Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi)

The species occurs from India and Sri Lanka through Nepal, Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh to southern China (Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang), east to Japan, and south through Indochina and the Philippines to Indonesia (Kress et al. 2003, Nguyen et al. 2005, Newman et al. 2007, Kwek et al. 2009, Yadav and Lee 2006, Tao and Taylor 2011, eFloras 2011).

The species occurs in open, seasonally damp, often sandy habitats, including waste ground, wet low-lying areas and rice fields.

(From IUCN Red List (LC) )

Snake-needle grass is a pleasant-tasting cooling, alterative herb that lowers fever, reduces inflammation, relieves pain and is diuretic and antibacterial[238]. It acts mainly on the liver and also stimulates the immune system[238]. The whole plant is alterative, anodyne, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, cardiotonic, depurative, diuretic, febrifuge and sedative[147, 176, 238]. The plant is harvested in the summer and dried for later use[238]. It is taken internally in the treatment of fevers, coughs, asthma, jaundice, impure blood, urinary tract infections, acute appendicitis, biliousness and cancers of the digestive tract[176, 238, 240]. Externally, it is used in the treatment of snake bites, boils, abscesses and severe bruising[176, 238].

(From PFAF)