The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Boerhavia erecta
Also called Hogmeat, Smooth Hog Weed, Erect Boerhavia, Upright Spiderling, Hogweed
Boerhavia erecta, the erect spiderling, is a low, spreading herb in the four-o'clock family, with many related Boerhavia species. It grows as a weed-like plant in warm, seasonally dry tropical and subtropical areas.
Boerhavia erecta, commonly known as the erect spiderling or the erect boerhavia, is one of more than 100 species in the genus Boerhavia. It is native to the United States, Mexico, Central America, Angola and western South America, but now is cosmopolitan in tropical and subtropical regions. In Africa its distribution extends from West Africa, eastwards to Somalia and down to South Africa. It has recently been found in parts of Madagascar and Réunion. In Asia, it occurs in India, Java, Malaysia, the Philippines, China and the Ryukyu Islands.
As an adventive species Boerhavia erecta is not widely regarded as a serious weed or invasive threat; in fact its physical and pharmacological attributes suggest that it is potentially useful.
Boerhavia erecta is used in traditional medicine and as a food. In West and East Africa, the leaves are eaten as a vegetable and in sauces. In the Sahel, cattle graze on its leaves.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Boerhavia erecta by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
