Appearance
"Sherardia arvensis" is an annual plant with trailing and upright stems growing up to 40 cm long, having a square cross-section. The rough pointed bristly leaves of about 1 cm in length are in whorls of four to six.The tiny pale lilac or pink flowers are approximately 3 mm in diameter and have a long tube, with only the end part of the four petals free. The flowers grow in clusters of two or three together in an involucral structure formed out of a ring of six bracts.
The fruit are dry and about 3 mm long with two lobes giving rise to the two seeds.
The four-angled stems with whorls of bristly leaves and tiny flowers are reminiscent of the Bedstraws and other related Rubiaceae, but "Sherardia" is distinguished by its mauve/pink flowers that are organized in clusters and having a long corolla tube.
Uses
"Sherardia arvensis" is a common weed of fields, pasture, grassland, and disturbed areas. The fleshy roots, though much inferior to the common madder, are sometimes used for the production of a red dye.References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
