Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb.

Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb., Descr. Icon. Rar. Pl. 13 (t. 4, fig. 3) (1773).

Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb.

Vietnamese name: Cói bạc đầu lá ngắn; Cỏ đầu tròn; Bạc đầu lá ngắn; Thủy ngô công.

Chinese name:

短叶水蜈蚣 duan ye shui wu gong

English Name:

Green kyllinga

Spanish Name:

Fosforito

French Name:

Herbe croix

Latin Name:

Kyllinga brevifolia Rottb.

Synonym Name:

Cyperus brevifolius (Rottb.) Hassk.; Cyperus brevifolius f. firmiculmis Kük.; Cyperus brevifolius subsp. intricatus (Cherm.) Lye; Cyperus cruciformis (Schrad. ex Schult.) Endl.; Cyperus erectus var. auratus (Nees) Kük.; Cyperus erectus var. intricatus (Cherm.) Kük.; Kyllinga aurata Nees; Kyllinga brevifolia var. brevifolia; Kyllinga brevifolia subsp. brevifolia; Kyllinga brevifolia f. brevifolia; Kyllinga brevifolia var. cruciformis (Schrad. ex Schult.) Cherm.; Kyllinga brevifolia var. intermedia (R.Br.) Kük.; Kyllinga brevifolia subsp. intricata (Cherm.) Lye; Kyllinga brevifolia f. laxa H.Pfeiff.; Kyllinga brevifolia var. longifolia Boeckeler; Kyllinga colorata var. aurata (Nees) Lye; Kyllinga cruciata Nees; Kyllinga cruciformis Schrad. ex Schult.; Kyllinga elongata Kunth; Kyllinga erecta var. aurata (Nees) Kük.; Kyllinga erecta var. intricata (Cherm.) Kük.; Kyllinga fuscata Miq.; Kyllinga gracilis Kunth; Kyllinga hohenackeri Hochst. ex Steud.; Kyllinga honolulu Steud. ex Jard.; Kyllinga intermedia R.Br.   

Kyllinga intermegia var. oligostachya C.B. Clarke; Kyllinga intricata Cherm.; Kyllinga laxa Schrad. ex Nees; Kyllinga longiculmis Miq.; Kyllinga monocephala Thunb.; Kyllinga monocephala L.f.; Kyllinga nivea Pers.; Kyllinga odorata Liebm.; Kyllinga oligostachya Boeckeler; Kyllinga pumilio Steud.; Kyllinga sojauxii Boeckeler        ; Kyllinga sororia Kunth    ; Kyllinga tenuis Baldwin; Kyllinga tenuissima Steud.; Kyllinga tricephala Salisb.; Mariscus kyllingioides Steud.; Schoenus capitatus Crantz

Family:

Cyperaceae

Description:

Perennials. Rhizomes slender, long creeping, clothed with brown, membranous scales, internodes 1-2.5 cm, with 1 culm at each node. Culms serially arranged, sometimes also laxly tufted, 2-30 cm tall, compressed 3-angled, smooth, base not swollen, with 4 or 5 leaf sheaths. Leaves shorter to slightly longer than culm; sheaths brown, mouth obliquely truncate, apex acuminate, basal 2 bladeless, apical 2 or 3 with a blade; leaf blade 5-15 cm × 2-4 mm, flaccid, flat, midvein and apical margin spinulose. Involucral bracts 3, leaflike, longest erect to oblique or horizontal. Spike 1(-3), globose to ovoid-globose, 5-11 × 4-10 mm, with numerous densely arranged spikelets. Spikelets narrowly oblong-ovoid to narrowly ovoid, ca. 3 × 1 mm, compressed, 1- or 2-flowered. Glumes white and rusty brown maculate or rarely straw-colored, ovate, 2.8-3 mm, keel spinulose or not, veins 2 or 3 on each side of keel, apex with a strict or recurved mucro or not mucronate. Stamens 1-3; anthers linear, ca. 0.7 mm. Style long; stigmas 2, less than 1/2 as long as style. Nutlet obovoid-oblong, 1-1.5 mm, biconvex, densely punctate. Fl. and fr. May-Oct. Cultivation Details:

- The plant has spread widely throughout the warmer areas of the world and is described as a weed of cultivation and agriculture in many areas. It can become a pioneer plant in disturbed areas especially along roads. It is common to abundant in lawns, pastures, and other wet, sunny, disturbed places, and is one of the most common pasture weeds in Samoa.

- The plant has a distinctive "minty sweet" scent when the leaves are mown or crushed.

Distribution:

It is found in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russia (Far East), Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam.

Ecological:

Grasslands, along roads, in forest clearings and on river banks, at elevations up to 1,500 metres. Open grasslands, waste places, along dikes, rice paddies and other moist places in the Philippines.

Chemistry:

- The choloroform and n-butanol soluble fractions, five compounds were isolated by chromatographic purification process. They were identified as beta-sitostenone, ergosterol peroxide, beta-sitosterol, beta-sitostenone, ergosterol.

Pharmacology:

Antidepressant-like Effect

Medicinal:

- The leaves, stems and rhizomes are analgesic, antiinflammatory, antimalarial, decongestant, diuretic, febrifuge and sudorific. A decoction of the whole plant is used as a treatment against a variety of complaints including malaria; colds with fever; whooping cough; bronchitis; swelling pain in the throat. The leaves are taken internally in the treatment of diarrhoea.

- The pounded rhizome is used as a poultice for sores.

A poultice of the fresh leaves is applied to snake bites, furuncles, sprains. A decoction may be used as an external wash in the treatment of pruritis.

- Ten fresh tubers are made into a paste and eaten with rice; once daily for three days as a treatment for diarrhoea.

- Rhizomes (Cyperaceae) are used in Paraguayan traditional medicine as a refreshing beverage, and is claimed to own digestive, diuretic, sedative, tonic, antispasmodic and sudorific properties

Reference:

- theplantlist.org

- efloras.org

- ipni.org

- Hellión-Ibarrola MC, Montalbetti Y, Heinichen OY, et al. Antidepressant-like effect of Kyllinga brevifolia rhizomes in male mice and chemical characterization of the components of the active ethyl acetate fraction. J Ethnopharmacol. 2016;194: