Description

Gulf Leaf-Flower (Phyllanthus fraternus) is an erect, annual plant growing up to 45cm, occasionally to 60cm. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and dye. The plant is traded internationally in small quantities for medicinal use.

Characteristics:

Gulf Leaf-Flower is a slender scruffy to nealy hairless erect annual herb, growing up to 80 cm, usually 30-40 cm, with angular branches. Leaves are carried on 0.5 mm long stalks. They are elliptic-oblong to elliptic- oblanceolate, 5-13 x 1.5-5 mm, blunt or rounded at apex and base, or sometimes tapering to the base. Leaves are dark green above, paler and greyish beneath. Both male and female flowers have 6 tepals. Male flowers have 1 mm long stalks, tepals nearly circular-obovate, 0.5 x 0.5 mm, rounded. Female flowers are carried on 1.5-2 mm long stalks. Tepals are oblong-oblanceolate, somewhat unequal, 1-1.5 x 0.5 mm, rounded, white, midrib green. Disc is thin, flat, irregularly deeply-lobed into 6-10 segments. Fruits are round, trilobate, 1.7-2 mm diameter, smooth. Flowering: August-September.

Medicinal Uses:

The leaves are strongly diuretic. A decoction is drunk to facilitate childbirth, and against oedema, costal pain and fever. In Sudan the leaves are given against dysentery.  The young leaves are given to children as a treatment for coughs and hiccups. A plant extract is reported to be strongly diuretic and is taken to allay spasms, such as griping in dysentery. The plant is also used as a laxative and to treat gonorrhoea, dropsy, diarrhoea and malaria. The plant extract is applied externally to treat skin infections. The plant sap is applied to treat bruises, sores and ulcers, and mixed with oil against ophthalmia and conjunctivitis. The fruits are used in the treatment of ulcers, wounds, sores, scabies, ringworm and other skin problems.