Phyllanthus tenellus explained

Phyllanthus tenellus is a herbaceous plant in the leafflower family, Phyllanthaceae. It is commonly called Mascarene Island leaf flower^[1] as it is native to the Mascarene Islands. It is often a weed in flower beds, gardens, roadsides, and other disturbed areas.

Description

It grows to be tall. The main stem does not have leaves but rather small scales (see phyllanthoid branching) and the secondary stems contain the flowers and leaves. The flowers are inconspicuous, small, and unisexual. Male and female flowers are located on the same plant.

Taxonomy

It was originally published in William Roxburgh's 1814 Hortus Bengalensis^[2] (as a nomen nudum) and later validated in his 1832 Flora Indica.^{[3] [4]}

It has two accepted varieties:^{[5] [6]}

• Phyllanthus tenellus var. arabicus (Yemen, Saudi Arabia) Müll.Arg.
• Phyllanthus tenellus var. tenellus (Angola, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, Tanzania)

Distribution

In addition to the Mascarene Islands, P. tenellus is possibly also native to eastern Africa, other western Indian Ocean islands, and the Arabian Peninsula. It has become a naturalized weed in tropical and subtropical areas, including Australia, Mexico, South America, Eastern North America (from Florida to Virginia west to California), as well as Mediterranean region, parts of Asia and the West Indies.

Notes and References

1. Book: Weakley . Alan . Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States . 2015 . The University of North Carolina Herbarium . Chapel Hill North Carolina .
2. Book: Roxburgh . William . Hortus Bengalensis, or a Catalogue of the Plants Growing in the Honourable East India Company's Botanical Garden at Calcutta . 1814 . Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta . 69 . en . 2018-11-02.
3. Book: Roxburgh . William . Flora Indica; or, Descriptions of Indian Plants . 1832 . Serampore . 668 . 2018-11-02 . en.
4. Web site: Hortus Bengalensis, or a Catalogue of the Plants Growing in the Honourable East India Company's Botanical Garden at Calcutta. Serampore. ipni.org . International Plant Names Index. 2018-11-02.
5. Web site: Phyllanthus tenellus Roxb.. Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanical Gardens Kew . 2018-11-02.
6. Web site: Phyllanthus tenellus Roxb.. 10 July 2021. Global Biodiversity Information Facility.