Aerva javanica (Burm.f.) Juss. ex Schult. (= Aerva persica (Burm.f.) Merr.)

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 3

Aerva javanica (Burm.f.) Juss. ex Schult. (= Aerva persica (Burm.f.) Merr.)

Names.

Myanmar: on-hnye. English: aerva, kapok bush, snow bush.

Range.

Widespread in drier parts of the tropics and subtropics of the Old World, from Myanmar, India and Sri Lanka westwards through Southwest Asia, across North Africa to Morocco and south to Cape Verde island and Cameroun Uganda and Tanzania to Madagascar. Introduced in Australia and elsewhere.

Use.

Root: Paste made and applied to acne-like conditions of the face.

Notes.

The species is used as a uricant ( Burkill 1985); also to treat kidney stones and for inflammation ( Zafar et al. 2006). The medicinal uses of another member of the genus Aerva in India are discussed in Jain and DeFilipps (1991) as follows: The whole plant is used for albumin in the urine; infant diarrhea; cholera; and dysentery. The leaf is used for earache; and the root is used for snakebite.

Reference.

Perry (1980).