Goat’s horns, Flannel weed, Heart-leaf sida
Sida cordifolia

Family: Malvaceae

What it is like

An erect woody shrub about 0.4 to 1 m high. It keeps growing from year to year. It is covered with short hairs mixed with long hairs. These make the plant feel soft. The leaf stalk is 1-2.5 cm long. The leaves are one after the other and heart shaped at the base. They are toothed at the edge and 1.5 to 4.5 cm long. The flowers are yellow and occur in the axils of the leaves. The fruit are about 6-8 mm across. They have 20 fine bristles on the top.

There are about 100 Sida species. It contains ephedrine and is used in medicine.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. They occur in open waste places and are common and widely distributed in the Philippines. It occurs in the tropics and subtropics. It grows on the Deccan in India. It grows in hot arid places with a marked dry season. It grows in places with an annual rainfall below 520 mm. It grows in dry sandy soils. It can grow in salty soils. It grows below 1,100 m above sea level. In Colombia it grows between 10-2,230 m above sea level. It can tolerate shade. It grows in savannah woodland and wet grass savannah. It can grow in arid places. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, Chad, China, Colombia, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Ecuador, Eswatini, French Guiana, Ghana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Martinique, Mauritius, Middle East, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, New Caledonia, Niger, Nigeria, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, St Helena, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The leaves are edible cooked. They are cooked with alkali solution and dried fish and eaten in curry.

Edible parts

Leaves, flowers

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Apalakolong, Bai trang, Bal, Bala, Balu, Bejangnei, Country-mallow, Egweret, Gulipas, Katsi-ne, Pokok kelulut puteh, Xin ye huang hua ren

Synonyms

Sida herbacea Cay.; Sida holosericea Wind. ex Sprengel;