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Dichondra repens
Dichondra repens, commonly known as kidney weed,[2] Mercury Bay weed,[3] tom thumb,[4] or yilibili in the Dharawal language,[5] is a species of flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae and is native to Australia, New Zealand, and the Indian Ocean islands, Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues.[1] It is a perennial, herb with kidney-shaped to round leaves and small, greenish-yellow, star-shaped flowers. DescriptionDichondra repens is a perennial herb with a creeping habit, forming roots at the nodes. The leaves are kidney-shaped to circular, mostly 5–25 mm (0.20–0.98 in) long and 5–30 mm (0.20–1.18 in) wide on a petiole 10–50 mm (0.39–1.97 in) long. The base of the leaf is heart-shaped and its apex round or slightly notched. Both surfaces of the leaves are covered with soft, greyish hairs. The flowers are borne singly on a pedicel usually 5–60 mm (0.20–2.36 in) long, the sepals joined at the base with lobes 2.5–4 mm (0.098–0.157 in) long. The petals are pale greenish-yellow and joined at the base, forming a short tube with lobes about the same length as the sepal lobes. Flowering occurs throughout the year with a peak in spring and summer, more profusely from September to February with a peak in November. The fruit is a hairy, two-lobed capsule.[5][6][7] TaxonomyDichondra repens was first formally described in 1775 by German naturalists Johann Reinhold Forster and Georg Forster in Characteres generum plantarum,[1][8] and the lectotype collected by them in New Zealand,[9] is in the Sammlung für Völkerkunde anthropological collection in Göttingen.[10] The specific epithet (repens) is a Latin adjective meaning "creeping".[11] Distribution and habitatKidney weed is widespread in all Australian States and New Zealand, and occurs on Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean.[1] It grows in forest, woodland and grassland on clay or clay-based soils that are medium to high in nutrients, and is a weed of lawns. Associated species in New South Wales are river peppermint (Eucalyptus elata), thin-leaved stringybark (E. eugenioides), woollybutt (E. longifolia) and snow-in-summer (Melaleuca linariifolia).[5][7] It is regarded as a weed in California where it is also known as Dichondra micrantha.[12][13] It may also be naturalised in China, Japan and South Africa.[14] EcologyThe native Pacific black duck (Anas superciliosa) eats the seeds of this species.[7] Use in horticultureThis species is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and can be used as a lawn substitute or groundcover in gardens.[15] ChemistryD. repens uses acylsugars as plant defensive compounds (see Chemical defense § Plants).[16] Among these are acylated resin glycosides which synergize with antibiotics to reverse bacterial multidrug resistance (MDR).[16] Interestingly deacylation increases the antiMDR effect.[16] A decrease would normally be expected.[16] References
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