Common wireweed

Appearance

Plant- Undershrub, with mucilaginous juice, aerial, erect, cylindrical, branched, solid, green.

Leaves- Alternate, simple, lanceolate to linear, rarely ovate to oblong, obtuse at the base, acute at the apex, coarsely and remotely serrate; petiole much shorter than the blade; stipulate, stipules free-lateral, unequally paired at the node, reticulate venation.

Inflorescence- Cymose

Flower- Small, axillary, 2-3 in a cluster; pedicels jointed at the middle, epicalyx absent, complete,

bisexual, regular, actinomorphic, hypogynus, pentamerous, yellow.

Calyx- Sepals 5, gamosepalous, campanulate, slightly accrescent, persistent, valvate.

Corolla- Petals 5, polypetalous but slightly connate below and jointed with the staminal column,twisted.

Androecium- Stamens many,monadelphous, arranged on the staminal column; staminal column is shorter than the petals,divided above into numerous filaments, anthers monothecus, reniform, basifixed, filament short, extrorse.

Gynoecium- Carples 5, syncarpous, ovary superior,penta or multilocular with axile placentation, one ovule in each locule; style 1, passing through the staminal tube; stigma globular,correspond to the number of carples.

Fruit- A schizocarpic mericarp, seed 1 in each mericarp.

Classification and Identification-

Class- Dicotyledonae

I) Reticulate venation.

II) Flower pentamerous.

Sub Class- Polypetalae

I) Petals free.

Series- Thalamiflorae.

I) Flower hypogynus; ovary superior.

Order- Malvales

I) Stamens indefinite, monadelphous.

II) Ovary 5 carpellary, placentation axile.

Family- Malvaceae

I) Plant- mucilaginous.

II) Leaves- Simple with free lateral stipule.

III) Flower- Bisexual,; petals 5, twisted; monadelphous stamen, anther one celled, reniformed.

Genus- ''Sida''

I) Staminal column without teeth at apex.

II) Flowers without epicalyx.

III) Ovule 1 in each locule; seed 1 in each mericarp.

Species- ''S.acuta''

I) Leaf base obtuse, apex acute.

Vernacular name[6]-

Sanskrit- Bala; Bengali- Kureta/ Berela[7] ; Hindi- Kareta/ Kharenti ; Oriya- Siobala ; Gujrati- Bala/ Jangli menthi ; Marathi- Chikana ; Malayalam- Malatanni ; Tamil- Malaidangi ; Telegu- Nelabenda ; Kannada- Vishakaddi ; Sinhala- Gasbevila ; Burmese- Katsayna ; Yoruba-Ìsékètu.
Floral formul of Sida acota-
Br,+,K⁵,C⁵^,A_,G