Centella

Scientific name

Centella L.

Common names

Asiatic pennywort, centella, goyu cola, goyu kola, Indian pennywort, marsh pennywort, pennyweed, sheeprot, spadeleaf

Family

Araliaceae

Similar genera

Ficaria, Hydrocotyle, Ranunculus

Native distribution

pantropical and subtropical

Species cultivated

Centella asiatica (L.) Urb.

C. cordifolia (Hook.f.) Nannf.

Adventive distribution

tropical and subtropical areas worldwide

Weed status

can be weedy

Habit

small, floating, emergentemergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
or terrestrialterrestrial:
(adj) growing on land as opposed to living in water
herb

Brief description

Perennial, stoloniferious. Stems creeping, glabrousglabrous:
(adj) without hairs or scales
to finely pubescentpubescent:
(adj) (1) covered with short, soft hairs; (2) bearing hairs
, sometimes purplish, rooting at the nodes. Leaves alternatealternate:
(adj) (of leaves) bearing one leaf per node; placed singly on the stem at different heights
, often in rosettes; petiolepetiole:
(n) the stalk of a leaf
sheathing at base; leaf bladeblade:
(n) (syn. lamina) the flat, expanded part of a leaf, frond, or petal (excluding, e.g., the petiole)
orbicular to reniformreniform:
(adj) kidney-shaped
; glabrousglabrous:
(adj) without hairs or scales
, or pubescentpubescent:
(adj) (1) covered with short, soft hairs; (2) bearing hairs
on abaxialabaxial:
(adj) the side facing away from the axis, as in the underside of a leaf
veins or upper portion of petiolepetiole:
(n) the stalk of a leaf
; apexapex:
(n) the point farthest from the point of attachment; the tip (often pointed)
round; base cordatecordate:
(adj) heart-shaped; in the form of two rounded lobes
; marginmargin:
(n) edge; rim
sub-entire or crenatecrenate:
(adj) (of a margin) with shallow, rounded teeth
; venationvenation:
(n) the arrangement of veins in a leaf
palmatepalmate:
(adj) (of leaves or venation) with lobes, leaflets, divisions or veins originating from the same point
. Inflorescenceinflorescence:
(n) the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis
an axillaryaxillary:
(adj) in, of, or produced from an axil
umbel, solitary or several clustered, loose to capitatecapitate:
(adj) terminated by an enlarged and rounded head
, 2-8-flowered; shortly pedunculatepedunculate:
(adj) borne on or possessing a peduncle
; bracts 2. Flowers ± sessilesessile:
(adj) attached directly, without a stalk
, inconspicuous; petals 4 or 5, ovateovate:
(adj) egg-shaped in outline; generally with the broad end at or near the base
to orbicularorbicular:
(adj) circular in outline
, apexapex:
(n) the point farthest from the point of attachment; the tip (often pointed)
± inflexedinflexed:
(adj) curved or bent inwards toward the axis
, white to pink, or purplish.

Natural habitat

shady, wet, grassy places; pastures, meadows, ditches, wetlands, floodplains, on margins of ponds, rivers, and streams

Additional comments

Centella asiatica is cultivated for water gardens and as an important herb of traditional Chinese medicine; often offered incorrectly as C. cordifolia. This genus contains about 50 species.