Erect Spiderling

Description

Boerhavia erecta has a chromosome number 2n=52. It is a perennial herb similar to Boerhavia diffusa, but can be distinguished by the fact that erect spiderlings are straight, bear white and pink flowers and bear obconic, glabrous fruit.Boerhavia erecta plants can survive considerable damage from grazing and fire because their stems produce perennating buds near the ground surface. Stems of B. erecta typically grow to about 60 centimetres (24 in) tall and 3-5 millimetres (0.12-0.20 in) across. They generally are cylindrical without furrows or ridges. In colour they are green, commonly tinted with purple, and towards their upper regions they are slightly pubescent, being covered in short, soft hairs. The base of the stem however, is glabrous and woody.The leaves are somewhat fleshy. Their arrangement is opposite and unequal. Typically the leaf size ranges from 1.5-2.5 cm (0.59-0.98 in) long and 2-3.5 cm (0.79-1.38 in) wide to 3-4.5 cm (1.2-1.8 in) long and 2-3.5 cm (0.79-1.38 in) wide, with a petiole of roughly 2 cm (0.79 in) to 3 cm (1.2 in). The petioles of the leaf are pale green with a hint of purple. The blade of the leaf is ovate, ovate- lanceolate or lanceolate. The upper surface of the leaf is green and pubescent, sometimes with scattered glands. The underside is grayish-white, often with tints of purplish red that also appear on the leaf margins.The flowering season of Boerhavia erecta is from early summer to mid-autumn. The inflorescences are determinatively cymose, meaning that the central, terminate flowers open before the basal flowers. Two leafy bracts subtend each branch of the inflorescence, but detach at an early stage. Each peduncle bears 2-6 sessile flowers at its apex. The flowers are tiny, pink and cream. The corolla is bell-shaped, 5-petalled, 1.5 mm long and 2 mm wide. There are 2-3 stamens. Anthocarps (false fruits) are circular and flat. They are 5-ribbed (0.3-0.5 mm wide) and glabrous. The ripe fruits of this plant are sticky and adapted to dispersal by humans and animals.