Scoparia dulcis
Family
Scrophulariaceae
Synonyms
Scoparia ternata Forssk, Gratiola micrantha Nutt, Scoparia grandiflora Nash.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Teh makao, cha padang, pokok delis. |
| English | Sweet broomweed, macao tea. |
| Indonesia | Ginje menir, ginje jepun (Javanese), jakatuwa (Sundanese). |
| Philippines | Mala-anis, sampalokan (Tagalog), isisa (Iloko). |
| Thailand | Mafai duean ha (Bangkok), kratai chaam yai (south-eastern), yaa hua maeng hun (northern). |
| Vietnam | Cam th[ar]o nam, d[ax] cam th[ar]o, cam th[ar]o d[aas]t. |
| French | Herbe à balai, balai doux. |
Geographical Distributions
S. dulcis is native of tropical America, but has long since become a pantropical weed. It is widely distributed in South-East Asia, India and China
Description
It is an annual to perennial, erect, much branched herb size up to 20-75 cm tall, hairless with 4-6-striate.
Leaves are arranged opposite or 3-4-whorled, oblong-lance-shaped to oblong-reverse egg-shaped, 0.5-3.5 cm x 0.2-1.5 cm. The base is attenuate while apex is acute. Their margin is coarsely acute serrate, hairless above but gland-dotted beneath. The stalk is 0.5-1 cm long with no stipules.
Flowers arise from the axils, bisexual, radial symmetrical, regularly with 1-4-fascicled. The individual flower stalk is 3-7 mm long. The sepal is deeply 4-lobed, 2mm long, with size increasing to 2.5 mm in fruit. The lobes are oblong-ovate and slightly acute. Their petal is white or very pale-purple, sometimes with darker centre, which is deeply 4-lobed and oblong with a size of 3 mm long. The apex is obtuse, with dense and long white hairs on the inside of its throat. The 4 stamens are slightly equal, erect while filaments are slender, 2 mm long. The ovary is superior, 2-celled and hairless while style is slender, 1.5 mm long with stigma headed.
Fruit is a slightly spherical capsule, 2.5-3 mm long, 4-valved and thin-walled, yellowish-brown while seeds are numerous.
Seed is oblong-spherical to ovoid, 0.5-0.6 mm x 0.3-0.4 mm, angular, covered with brown, thin, reticulate outer coat.
Seedling germinates above the ground, the cotyledons are rhomboid, up to 2.2 mm long and smooth. The stalk is small with above ground young stem is 1.5-4 mm long, 4-angular. The first leaves are 2 and supported by small stalk, egg-shaped, up to 6 mm long and dotted glandular. The margin is with rounded teeth and the main vein is present.
Ecology / Cultivation
S. dulcis is a common weed on waste ground, along roads, in dry deciduous forest and dry ice fields, from sea level up to 700 m altitude. It prefers region ranging from everwet conditions to a prolonged dry season, and grows on all kinds of soils.
Line Drawing / Photograph
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References
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Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(2). 1998, Unesco.
