Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants (Amaranthaceae)
Synonym: Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (Adams, 1972)
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Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants (Amaranthaceae)
Synonym: Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (Adams, 1972) Common names in Jamaica: Semi-contract, Semi-conscience Other common names in Jamaica: Bitter weed, hedge mustard, Mexican tea, semicontract, wormseed (Adams, 1972)
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 I. Vandebroek, D. Picking, Popular Medicinal Plants in Portland and Kingston, Jamaica, Advances in Economic Botany, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48927-4_14
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14 Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants (Amaranthaceae)
Botanical characteristics and propagation Aromatic erect subshrub with a pungent smell that grows up to 1 m tall. The plant is irregularly branched from a woody base and has small, lanceolate or oblanceolate leaves that carry yellow glandular dots beneath, margins ranging from deeply lobed to serrate and entire, depending on their position on the plant (CABI, 2020). Flowers are small and green, growing in a long, dense, terminal cluster. The species is native to Mexico and tropical regions of Central and South America but is considered a cosmopolitan weed that has successfully colonized disturbed and agricultural areas around the world. Currently, the species can be found naturalized in Europe, the United States, the West Indies, Africa, Australia, the Pacific Islands, and Asia. It produces thousands of small seeds that can be easily dispersed by human activities (CABI, 2020). It has been actively introduced by humans as a culinary and aromatic herb, tea, and as a spice. The plant is propagated by stem cuttings that root easily in moist loamy soil.
Where to find the plant Semi-contract grows wild, is reported to “come up spontaneously,” and is then kept in people’s yards close to the house as a useful plant.
Part used The leaf and the whole plant.
Jamaican cultural uses and beliefs Semi-contract can be drunk as a regular tea in the morning and evening. In Kingston, someone also said it can be used when “ghost [spirit] dem pon baby.” In that case, the leaves are put in the baby’s bed, and when they turn brown in color, people consider it proof that the remedy has worked.
Jamaican medicinal uses To expel worms.
Reported medicinal uses across the Caribbean
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Major uses (mentioned by more than 20% of people) • Expel worms (including roundworm and hookworm): In Kingston and Windsor Forest, the green leaf or whole bush is boiled for 5–10 min, or steeped in hot water for 5–15 min (some people even soak it overnight) to worm out children during nine mornings. People we interviewed remarked that, while children are taking this remedy, white spots will appear on the face to show it is working. In Windsor Forest, people reported that semi-contract is sometimes combined with lime leaf (Citrus × aurantiifolia (Christm.) Swingle), cow tongue (Campyloneurum phyllitidis (L.) C. Presl), soursop leaf (Annona muricata L.), vervine (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (L.) Vahl and Stachytarpheta cayen
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