Wedelia (Sphagneticola Trilobata)

Wedelia (Scientific - Sphagneticola Trilobata) is a common weed, Introduced from tropical America, Wedelia has been used in the landscape as a groundcover. People like wedelia because of its beautiful flowers and its fast growth habit. Quick to form a thick groundcover, It is also considered a serious weed in agricultural settings in other countries.

Wedelia is a mat forming perennial herb with rounded stems. Leaves are fleshy, usually 2 to 4 inches long and 1 to 5 inches wide, with irregularly toothed margins. Flowers are solitary, one inch in diameter and yellow-orange in color. New plants arise from nodes that root at the soil surface. Seed production is low and generally does not reproduce prolifically via seed. However, wedelia is able to escape from gardens to nearby areas via runners and fragmentation.

The leaves are used in dyeing grey hair and in promoting the growth of hair. They are considered tonic, alternative, and useful in coughs, cephalalgia, skin diseases, and alopecia. The juice of the leaves is much used as a snuff in cephalalgia.

Care