Mukkurattai is Boerhavia diffusa, spreading hogweed — the prostrate, reddish-stemmed weed Hindi shops call punarnava, “the one that becomes new again.” It is not Trianthema portulacastrum (sāthī, another succulent weed that mills have used as a cheaper stand-in). Check the flower and the sticky fruit before reading anything about kidneys.
- Botanical name
- Boerhavia diffusa L.
- Family
- Nyctaginaceae
- Tamil
- Mukkurattai
- Hindi
- Punarnava
- Sanskrit
- Punarṇavā
- Parts used
- Whole herb, Root
- Habit
- Prostrate perennial of waste ground that “renews” after rain
- Last updated
- 2026-10-30
How to recognise Mukkurattai
Linnaeus published Boerhavia diffusa. The family is Nyctaginaceae (four-o’clock family). It is a spreading perennial with forkingly branched, often reddish stems, ovate sticky leaves of unequal pairs, and tiny pink flowers in loose clusters. The fruit is a club-shaped anthocarp, sticky, five-ribbed, without the showy involucre of a bougainvillea cousin.
Tamil mukkurattai (and variants) and Hindi punarnava are the names when the seller means this weed. English spreading hogweed is honest and ugly. “Hogweed” alone is also used for Heracleum, a completely different, phototoxic umbellifer. Do not let English do that damage.
Trianthema portulacastrum is a common adulterant: more succulent, different flower, Aizoaceae. A churna labelled only punarnava is where that swap happens.
Boerhavia erecta and other Boerhavia taxa turn up in the same waste ground. A photograph of the sticky ribbed fruit helps.
It sprawls at the edges of tanks and paths after rain. A white-rooted “punarnava” bundle in a shop may be this species or a cousin.
Root and whole herb are different traditional articles. The plant does look lifeless in the dry months and greens after rain — the folk etymology, not a miracle.
Stems that radiate from a taproot and lie flat are the habit. An erect “punarnava” in a pot may be B. erecta or a different weed. Ask for the fruit.
Traditional use of Mukkurattai
Ayurveda
Punarṇavā is a famous weed in that system, often in śotha (swelling) and urine categories. Those headings are historical. They are not a nephrology claim.
Ayurvedic materia medica headings
Siddha and Tamil household
Mukkurattai is a rainy-season herb of paths. Household use is ordinary. It is not kidney treatment.
Tamil vernacular
Modern notes on Mukkurattai
Papers on this weed are easy to find; few test it in people with a named disease.
The practical modern issue is Trianthema and other Boerhavia in the same sack.
Mukkurattai safety
Whole herb as a traditional crush is the ordinary rural exposure. Root extracts of unknown weeds are not that crush.
People with kidney or liver disease already should not self-dose a “kidney herb.” That is the opposite of caution.
Pregnant people should not start punarnava from a monsoon-poster claim.
Ecology and sourcing
It is a pantropical weed. The conservation problem is mislabelling, not extinction.
Related plants
Questions about Mukkurattai
Is punarnava the same as hogweed?
Spreading hogweed is an English name for Boerhavia diffusa. Giant hogweed is Heracleum, a different and dangerous plant. Use the Latin name.
What is the Tamil name of Boerhavia diffusa?
Mukkurattai.
Sources
- Boerhavia diffusa L. — Plants of the World Online, Kew (search) (accessed 2026)
- Wikidata item Q311457 (Boerhavia diffusa)
Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.