''Boerhavia boissieri'' is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. It is a woody-based perennial with long, slender stems with fleshy leaves and small pink flowers. It grows throughout Egypt,

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Desert,

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

, Zaire, Malawi, and the

Arabian peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

. It may also be called the ''Commicarpus boissieri''. Boerhavia boissieri prefers rocky, open and dry habitats.

Uses

The new tender growing shoots were often picked and chewed- they were said to have a sour, astringent flavour. People far from water would also pluck the tips and chew them to assuage their thirst. In times of hunger, the hknobbed roots were dug up, roasted slowly and eaten along with the roots of the Ecbolium violaceum.

History

"Boissieri" commemorates Pierre Edmond Boissier, a distinguished Swiss

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

who wrote Flora Orientalis, the first comprehensive book covering the plants of the Middle East.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17270194 boissieri Flora of the Arabian Peninsula Flora of Egypt Flora of Sudan Flora of Eritrea Flora of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Flora of Malawi