Spermacoce alata Aubl.

English: Broadleaf buttonweed

Kingdom: Plantae (2659)

  Phylum: Tracheophyta (2572)

    Class: Magnoliopsida (2167)

      Order: Gentianales (113)

        Family: Rubiaceae (62)(family description)

          Genus: Spermacoce (5)

            Epithet: alata Aubl. (6)

Synonyms: Borreria alata (Aubl.) DC., Borreria bartlingiana DC., Borreria eradii Ravi, Borreria fockeana Miq., Borreria latifolia (Aubl.) K.Schum., Borreria penicillata Miq., Borreria perrottetii DC., Borreria platyphylla DC., Borreria scabrida DC., Borreria sideritis Cham. & Schltdl., Borreria splitgerheri Bremek., Borreria tetraptera Miq., Spermacoce aspera Aubl., Spermacoce bartlingiana Hemsl., Spermacoce caerulescens Aubl., Spermacoce latifolia Aubl., Tardavel latifolia (Aubl.) Standl.

alata => winged, with wings

aspera => rough, sharp to the touch

bartlingiana => in honor of Friedrich Gottlieb Theophil Bartling (1798-1875), German botanist, professor and director of the botanical garden at Göttingen

caerulescens => becoming sky blue, becoming true blue

eradii => in honor of N. A. Erady (fl. 1953), Indian botanist

latifolia => with broad leaves

perrottetii => in honor of Georges Samuel Perrottet (1793–1870), Swiss botanist and horticulturalist

platyphylla => flat or broad leaf

scabrida => having a rough surface

tetraptera => four-winged

Climate: tropical

Habitat: mesophytic

Habit: herb

Flower colour: white

Check for Spermacoce alata at

World Flora Online, GBIF or IPNI

• [1253] Spermacoce latifolia - Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)

• [13] Sauerborn E., Sauerborn J. (1985): Wichtige Unkrautarten der Tropen und Subtropen. Verlag Josef Margraf, Weikersheim, Germany.