Biophytum reinwardtii - Reinwardt's Tree Plant

Binomial Name : Biophytum reinwardtii (Zucc.) Klotzsch

Synonym : Oxalis gracilenta,Oxalis reinwardtii 

Family : Oxalidaceae

Common Name : Reinwardt's Tree Plant 

Biophytum reinwardtii Description

Annual herb with simple stem; leaves whorled at the tip of stem, paripinnate compound; leaflets 10-20 pairs, oblong with equal base, nerves slender, oblique, uppermost pair usually largest, tip rounded; flowers yellow, in umbellate cyme carried on long slender peduncle; pedicel 5-7 mm long, usually 2-3 times as long as as calyx; sepals and pedicels covered with glandular hairs; petals yellow, almost twice as long as sepals; capsule as long or longer than fruiting calyx. The species is often confused with B. sensivitum in which peduncles are much more robust, pedicels hardly 1/3 as long as calyx, larger flowers and capsule shorter than fruiting calyx. 

Biophytum reinwardtii Medicinal uses

• Thick decoction of the fresh leaves is taken as a remedy for cough
• Crushed leaves are applied on cuts and wounds to stop bleeding and quick healing

Biophytum reinwardtii Pictures

Biophytum reinwardtii - Flower

Biophytum reinwardtii - Habit