Phyllanthus urinaria Seeds | Leaf Flower

Tiny, pale brown, three-sided Leaf Flower seeds with fine ridges, on a plain background — Leaf Flower (*Phyllanthus urinaria*): Phyllanthaceae, native to tropical and subtropical Asia and now a weed of warm ground worldwide.

LATIN NAME: Phyllanthus urinaria

COMMON NAME: Leaf Flower

Plant Profile

Leaf Flower is a small annual herb of the leaf-flower family, ten to fifty centimetres tall, with a reddish, angular stem and short side shoots that carry rows of small, oval, leaf-like branchlets. The true leaves are reduced to scales, and the flowers and the little warty capsules sit underneath the branchlets, which is why the Chinese name means pearl below the leaf.

It grows on warm, disturbed ground across tropical and subtropical Asia, in gardens, lawns, roadsides and cultivated fields, and it has been carried to Africa and the Americas. In Vietnam it is called diep ha chau, and it is gathered from the wild as a household herb.

Science & Biotechnology

The plant is rich in hydrolysed tannins, in flavonoids and in lignans, and extracts of the whole herb have been studied for their effect on hepatitis B in cell culture and in small clinical trials. The results are not conclusive, but they are consistent enough that P. urinaria remains one of the most researched of the tropical liver herbs.

It is often confused with Phyllanthus niruri, the stonebreaker, which is a larger, longer-lived plant with smooth capsules; P. urinaria is annual, more upright, and its capsules are rough and warty. Both appear in the herb trade under similar names, and the distinction matters because most of the pharmacological work has been done on one or the other, not on both.

Uses & Benefits

In Chinese practice the whole herb is used for jaundice, for hepatitis and for urinary complaints, usually as a decoction of the dried plant. In Vietnam and Cambodia it is brewed fresh as a daily drink, and it is sold in markets alongside other bitter herbs.

In the garden it is a weed of warm lawns and bare ground rather than a plant to encourage, though its neat rows of leaflets and its tiny hanging fruit make it interesting on close inspection. It is worth knowing for what it is, since it appears in almost any warm garden and is often pulled without being recognised.

Growing from Seed

Sow in spring on the surface of a warm, light compost, press the seed in and keep it at 22 to 28 °C; germination is quick and often very high, since the seed is designed to exploit a gap in the vegetation. Water from below to avoid washing the seed away.

Grow the seedlings in full sun and keep them moist but not wet. The plant completes its life in a few months, flowers, sets seed and dies, so a patch will renew itself from the seed bank if a few plants are allowed to ripen. In a pot, use a free-draining mix and water when the surface dries.

Our Take

A small tropical herb with a large medicinal literature and a habit of appearing wherever the ground is warm and bare. Interesting to know, easy to grow, and best kept out of the vegetable bed.

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