Boerhavia coccinea
Family: Nyctaginaceae
Plant Description: Low-lying perennial or annual with prostrate or reclining stems to 120 cm or longer, sometimes glandular. Stems sometimes reddish. Leaves 1.5-4 cm long, ovate or roundish, opposite. Reddish-purple flowers in radial clusters; calyxes red, corollas absent; perianth 1-2 mm long.
Plant Trivia:
Field Identification:
Occurrence: Frequent on various soils in pastures, woods, disturbed areas, and along roadsides.
Bloom Period: April – December
Plant Use: Can become a garden pest.
Key to the species of Boerhavia:
- Perianth red-purple……………………………………………………………………………………..2
Perianth of other color……………………………………………………………………………….3
2. Perianth 1-2 mm long……………………………………………………………….B. coccinea
Perianth 4-6 mm long…………………………………………………………B. mathesiana
3. Perianth lavender or whitish………………………………………………………..B. erecta
Perianth greenish yellow………………………………………………………....B. scandens
stxflora 