atoll research bulletin no. 392 the flora of - Smithsonian Institution ...

Sida acuta Burm.f. "spiny-headed sida" , "broom weed"
"coffee bush" (N)
syns. S. carpinifolia L.f.; S. glomerata Cav.
Recent introduction. Pantropical. Common. Low, freely-branching perennial
subshrub, up to 1 m tall, with slender stems and a strong taproot; leaves, 1.5 to 7.5 cm
long and 0.5 to 2 cm wide, alternate, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, acute, obtuse,
cordulate or rounded at base, sharply serrate, yellowish-green, more or less stellate-
pubescent or glabrous beneath, palmately 3-nerved from base, pinnately nerved above the
base, midrib branched upward; petioles, 3 to 5 cm long; stipules linear-acute or linear-
subulate, up to 12 mm long; inflorescences, solitary or paired, axillary or sometimes
terminal; pedicels, 2 to 10 cm long; calyx, about 5 mm across, 5-lobed, lobes pointed;
corolla, about 4 to 15 mm across, 5-petaled, petals united at base, obovate, rotate,
yellow; stamens numerous, fused into a column (monadelphous); fruit, 4 to 5 mm broad,
a 6 to 10-carpellate schizocarp, carpels 2-awned, grooved dorsally; seeds, about 1.5 to 2
mm long, rounded-wedge-shaped, dark reddish-brown. Weed on coastal strip, along
roadside, and in and near thickets. Two forms, a narrow ovate-lanceolate-leaved form
(22303) and a broader-leaved form (96) exist. 3(58615, 58649, 58806), 5(23, 96), 6,
7(22303), 8(9558, 9582).
Sida fallax Walp.
ekaura, idibin ekaura (N); te kaura (K)
"ilima" (Hawaii)
Indigenous. Indo-Pacific. Rare. Small downy, often almost prostrate, shrub, up to
50 cm high; leaves, about 2 to 4 cm long and 1 to 3 cm wide, alternate, oblong or
cordate, acute or obtuse, serrate or scalloped-edged, glaucous, downy; petioles, about 1
to 2 cm long ??; flowers, axillary or terminal, solitary or 2 .or 3 near ends of branch tips;
pedicels, 2 to 5 cm long, slender ??; calyx, about half as large as corolla, 10-ribbed,
downy; corolla, about 2 to 2.5 cm across, 5-petaled, yellow to rich orange, reddish near
the center; stamens numerous, fused into a column (monadelphous); fruit, a wheel-like,
7- to 12-carpellate schizocarp with 1-seeded, short-awned seed cases or carpels; seeds ??.
Found in ruderal habitats on coastal strip and in areas cleared recently for phosphate
mining. Unopened flower buds used, after soaking in coconut oil to retard their opening
and make them last, to make headbands and necklaces worn by dancers and sportsmen
during special occasions; dried and treated leaves used by I Kiribati, in Kiribati, as a
very strong fertilizer and mulch in ceremonial giant swamp taro (Cyrtospemza chamis-
sonis) gardens. l(5 .R), 2(7.5), 5(108), 6(l6O, 162).
Sida rhombifolia L. "broomweed", "broom plant", "Cuba jute", "Paddy's lucerne"
- -.
"coffee bush", itsi (tea) (N)
Recent introduction. Pantropical. Common. Tough-stemmed, much-branching,
erect, stellate-pubescent shrub, 30 cm to 1.5 m high; leaves, 1.5 to 8 cm long and 0.7 to