A perennial dioecious plant growing 2–12 cm. Leaves basal, trifoliolate, petiolate, stipulate; stipules acute, 2cm long, 5-6mm broad, glabrous except for villous midvein; petioles to +16cm long, pilose or with appressed pubescence; leaflets lance-ovate to obovate, glabrous above, sericeous below, to -5cm long, +/-2.6cm broad, serrate-dentate on upper portion of margins, entire near base. Inflorescence open corymbiform cluster; peduncle to 15cm long, pilose; pedicels pilose or with appressed pubescence, to 1.3cm long. Flowers petals 5, white, to 8mm long, 5.5mm broad, glabrous, orbicular to broadly obovate, spreading. Stamens many(+20), borne at edge of receptacle; filaments 1.5mm long, yellow, glabrous; anthers yellow; pistils many; hypanthium broadly conic, 2mm tall(long). sericeous; bracts 5, linear, to +/-5mm long, 1.2mm broad, sericeous, alternating with sepals; sepals acuminate, +/-5mm long, 2.2mm broad at base, sericeous. Fruit red, accessory, with many small achenes on surface, to +/-1.5cm long.

Antiseptic, astringent, emmenagogue, galactogogue and odontalgic (whole plant); abortifacient, analgesic, antiinflammatory, antiseptic, antiulcer, astringent, deodorant, deobstruent, depurative, diuretic, digestive, hemostat, neurotonic, tonic, urinary antiseptic (leaves); nerve tonic and slightly astringent (tea from the leaves); diuretic (tea made from root).

Plants For A Future

The whole plant is used to regulate the menstrual cycle. A poultice made from the dried powdered leaves mixed with oil has been used to treat open sores. A tea made from the roots is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, irregular menses, gonorrhoea, stomach and lung ailments. A tea made from leaves has been indicated in several diseases such as anorexia, arthrosis, bleeding, burns, congestion, cholera, cholecystosis, cramps, dermatosis, diarrhea, dysentery, dysmenorrhea, dyspepsia, freckles, gastrosis, gingivosis, gonorrhea, gout, gravel, inflammation, jaundice, kidney stone, metrorrhagia, nephrosis, pain, pulmonosis, rash, scurvy, sores, sore throat, stomachache, sunburn, tartar, ulcers and water retention.

James A Duke and Maryl Fulton. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs - 2nd Edition, P: 782-783, CRC Press July 2002.