''Herniaria hirsuta'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactacea ...

known by the common name hairy rupturewort. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, and it is known on other continents, including North America, as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

. This is an annual herb with stems up to long usually growing prostrate along the ground. The small, fuzzy, pale green leaves are up to about a centimeter long and coat the stems. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s appear in the leaf axils. Each contains three to eight hairy green

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s and no petals. The fruit is a tiny bumpy utricle containing one seed. This plant is used in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

as an

herbal remedy Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies ...

for

kidney stones Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the body in the urine s ...

.Atmani, F., et al. (2003). Prophylaxis of calcium oxalate stones by ''Herniaria hirsuta'' on experimentally induced nephrolithiasis in rats. '' British Journal of Urology International'' 92:1 137-40.Atmani, F. (2004). Effect of aqueous extract from ''Herniaria hirsuta'' L. on experimentally nephrolithiasic rats. ''

Journal of Ethnopharmacology The ''Journal of Ethnopharmacology'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering the traditional medicinal use of plants and other substances. It is the official journal of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology. The journal is included i ...

'' 95:1 87-93.Atmani, F. (2004). Extract from ''Herniaria hirsuta'' coats calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals and blocks their adhesion to renal epithelial cells. ''Journal of Urology'' 172:4 1510-14.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaPhoto gallery: ssp. ''cinerea''
hirsuta Flora of Lebanon Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Caryophyllaceae-stub