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Phyllanthus
fraternus G. L. Webster, P. niruri L., P.
urinaria L.
Standardized Common
Name: Phyllanthus
Other Common Names: Bhumyamalaki,
Chamber Bitter, Pearl Grass
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Taxonomy: As described under Phyllanthus
amarus (cf.), Phyllanthus is a very large and complicated genus.
Phyllanthus urinaria belongs to Sect. Urinaria, whereas P.
fraternus and P. niruri belong to Sect. Phyllanthus; these
three species do not form a natural group.
Phyllanthus urinaria and P. niruri
are both widespread and variable species with several synonyms. A recent
treatment segregated two new species (P. nozeranii Rossignol &
Haicour, P. embergeri Haicour & Rossignol) from P. urinaria,
based largely on variation in seed ornamentation and ploidy level, but the
practical value of this circumscription is unclear. The name P. niruri
has been misapplied by a number of authors to P. amarus and applied by
others to a broad species concept that included P. fraternus. Phyllanthus
fraternus in turn bears strong resemblances to two other species, P.
debilis Klein ex Willd. and to P. asperulatus Hutch., and future
re-examination of these three might lead to the conclusion that they should be
treated as a single species. Similar taxonomic problems are likely commonplace
in Phyllanthus, which is an extremely difficult genus.
Description: Erect annual herbs,
15–50 cm high, with narrow main stem, sometimes branched, and phyllanthoid
branching: leaves on main stem at higher nodes reduced to stipule-like scales, secondary
branches extending at nearly right angles, unbranched, of limited length and
with regularly spaced leaves, so that secondary branches give the appearance of
pinnately compound leaves with flowers borne in “leaflet axils”. Leaves 15–35
per branch, alternate, stipulate, small, oblong, green above and pale beneath.
Plants monoecious; flowers tiny, unisexual; female flowers borne singly, males
in few-flowered cymes. Flowers consisting of a 5- or 6-lobed, yellowish green
calyx, a floral disk inside the calyx (segmented in the male), and 3 stamens or
a 3-styled compound ovary. Filaments fused for most or all of length; anthers
free. Fruit a capsule, 3-loculed; seeds usually 2 per locule, variously
ornamented.
Parts
in Commerce:
Whole herb
Identification: The following
features are generally applicable to the official species:
Stems
and leaves
- Main stem thin,
becoming woody at the base, unbranched or branching, essentially round in
cross-section; 2 species have longitudinal ridges
- Branchlets
(3–)5–10 cm long, with closely spaced alternate leaves, the whole
resembling pinnately compound leaves
- Most of leaves
on main stem reduced to narrow, dry stipule-like structures subtending
branchlets
- Stipules on main
stem generally dry, thin, lanceolate; with auriculate bases in P.
urinaria
- Foliar leaves
short-petioled, elliptic to oblong
- Upper surface of
leaf dark green; lower surface very pale, with prominent midrib; both
surfaces usually glabrous
- Taste acidic
Flowers
- Plants
monoecious, male and female flowers almost always borne on separate nodes
of branchlets
- Flowers minute;
female flowers solitary, male flowers in few-flowered clusters
- Pedicels usually
short, never over 4 mm
- Calyx with 5 or
6 lobes, yellowish, with wide pale, dry margins particularly in female flowers
- Floral disk
round or cupped in female flowers, often with 5 or more angles or lobes;
of 5 or 6 segments with obscure glandular papillae in the male flower
- Stamens 3;
filaments fused for most or all of their length, but anthers not fused
- Carpels 3; styles
3, with divided, recurving ends
- Fruit a
flattened spherical capsule
There
are also a number of characters, variable among the official species, that help
to distinguish them from one another as well as from related species. Of these,
the most informative and the most critical to observe are leaf shape and size,
number and position of flowers of each sex, number of calyx and disk lobes or
segments, and staminal and stylar configurations. The warty ovary of P.
urinaria is also a valuable character.
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P.
fraternus
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P. niruri
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P. urinaria
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Branchlet
stems
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Round,
with 2 wings, minutely roughened esp. along wings
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Almost
round
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Winged
and flattened in cross-section
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Leaves
per branchlet
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10–30
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15–30
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(10–)20–35(–42)
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Leaf
shape
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Oblong
to elliptic
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Oblong
to elliptic
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Narrowly
oblong, often slightly curved
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Leaf
size
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6–11
mm X 3–5 mm
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7–15
mm X 4–8 mm
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10–25
mm X 2.5–6 mm
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Leaf
apices
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Rounded,
perhaps rarely with mucron
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Acute
or subacute
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Obtuse
or acute with tiny mucron
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Leaf
bases
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Wedge-shaped
or obtuse
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Oblique,
with one side round
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Obtuse,
often asymmetrical
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Leaf
margins
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Smooth
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Smooth
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Minutely
roughened with single-celled papillae
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Position
of male and female flowers
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Males
on proximal nodes, females on distal nodes
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First
nodes sterile; males proximal, females distal
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Females
proximal, males distal; farthest distal nodes sterile
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#
of flowers in male cymes
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2–3
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3–7
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5–7
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Calyx
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Lobes
6, often unequal esp. in female flower
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Lobes
5 or rarely 6 in male flower; midrib ridged; membranous in male flower
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Lobes
6, membranous in male flower; with few minute hairs in female flower
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Female
disk features
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Irregular
cup with 6–9 lobes
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Round,
slightly cupped, with 5 slight upturned angles
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Round,
thin, with 6 angles or slightly wavy edge
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Ovary
surface
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Smooth
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Smooth
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Often
warty
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Styles
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0.1–0.15
mm, free, erect or ascending
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0.5–0.6
mm, free, arching
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Flattened,
bases fused into triangular plate to 0.4 mm wide
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Male
disk features
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6
segments, somewhat lobed or angled, 0.1 mm wide
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5
segments, wedge-shaped, 0.25–0.4 mm
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6
segments, wedge-shaped or rounded, 0.1 mm
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Filaments
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Filaments
united in column, 0.1–0.25 mm long
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Filaments
0.6–0.9 mm long, united for most of length
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Filaments
united in column, 0.1–0.15 mm
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Capsule
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ca.
2.0–2.2 mm diameter; veins not visible
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3.0
mm diameter; reticulate veins visible
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2.0–2.2
mm diameter; veins not visible; wrinkled with small warts or smooth
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Seed
characteristics
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0.95–1.1
mm long, light yellow-brown, with 6–7 longitudinal ribs and with fine lines
on back
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1.4–1.5
mm long, dark gray-brown, covered with dark raised points
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1.1–1.2
mm long, light gray-brown, with 12–15 ridges, often with circular pits on
sides
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Adulterants: P. virgatus
Forst. f. (also known as P. simplex Retz.) and P. maderaspatensis
L. are reported to be marketed interchangeably with P. niruri and P.
urinaria in India. Several other species, such as P. amarus, P.
hookeri Muell. Arg., and P. tenellus Roxb., also resemble the
official species. Character states indicative of mistaken identity include any
of the following:
- Branchlets with consistently more than 35
leaves
- Stipules on main stem dark red or black,
hardened, and with auriculate bases
- Leaves on main stem (above first few nodes)
not distinctly reduced
- Leaves smaller or larger than expected, or
strongly ovate rather than tending towards oblong
- Most inflorescences bisexual, with 1(–2) male
and 1(–2) female flowers on the same node, or male flowers solitary
- Calyx other than with 5 or 6 lobes
- Stamens not 3, or filaments separated to the
base
- Floral disk absent in either sex or, if
lobed, with <5 segments
- Capsule surface covered with fleshy scales
- Seed ornamentation not matching descriptions
of official species
P.
fraternus
is only with difficulty distinguished from lookalike species P. amarus, P.
debilis, and P. asperulatus (some of which might indeed be the same
species). Most cymules of P. amarus have 1 male and 1 female flower.
Combinations of the following characters should not be found in P. fraternus
in the strict sense:
- Main stems angled, rather than winged but
otherwise round
- Epidermis of branchlets entirely smooth
- Leaves mucronulate (may rarely occur in P.
fraternus)
- Disk of female flower saucer-shaped,
shallowly lobed but not divided into irregular lobes
- Styles spreading, pressed close to ovary
- P.
urinaria
is equally difficult to distinguish from P. hookeri. The latter has
fruits with fleshy scales, and its leaf margins and the midribs of female
tepals are smooth or nearly so.
References:
Rossignol L, Rossignol M, Haicour R. A systematic
revision of Phyllanthus subsection Urinaria (Euphorbiaceae). Amer
J Bot. 1987;74:1853–1862.
Sarin YK. Illustrated Manual of Herbal Drugs Used
in Ayurveda. New Delhi: Council of Scientific & Industrial Research and
Indian Council of Medical Research; 1996.
Webster GL. Studies of the Euphorbiaceae,
Phyllanthoideae. I. Taxonomic notes on the West Indian species of Phyllanthus.
Contr Gray Herb. 1955;176:45–63.
Webster GL. A monographic study of the West Indian
species of Phyllanthus. J Arnold Arbor. 1956–1958;37:91–122, 217–268,
340–359; 38:51–80, 170–198, 295–373; 39:49–100, 111–212.
Figure 54: a–d, Phyllanthus
fraternus branch, leaf, male
flower and female flower; e–h, P. niruri
leaf, branch, male flower and female flower; i–l, P. urinaria branch, leaf, male flower and female flower.
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