Turnera ulmifolia

Ramgoat dashalong · Buttercup plant · Yellow-alder · Sage Rose · West Indian-holly

Summary

Turnera ulmifolia is a perennial subshrub known for its bright yellow, short-lived flowers that open at sunrise and close by midday. It features elm-like serrated leaves and is widely cultivated as a drought-tolerant ornamental plant in warm climates.

Region

It is native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, northern South America, and southern Florida. Due to its ornamental use, it has naturalized in tropical regions worldwide, thriving in sunny, disturbed habitats and poor soils.

Uses: beneficial

It is widely grown as an ornamental shrub in tropical gardens for its long blooming period and drought tolerance. Ecologically, its flowers provide nectar for bees and butterflies, while its leaves host specific butterfly larvae.

Uses: medicinal (traditional)

In traditional Brazilian and Caribbean folk medicine, infusions made from the leaves are used to treat gastrointestinal disorders, ulcers, coughs, and respiratory conditions.

Recorded in: Brazilian, Caribbean

Distribution

Galápagos IslandsCaribbeanNorth AmericaOceaniaManizalesDepartamento del Tolima, municipios de Purificación y Coyaima, veredas Anonales y Coya, humedal laguna de CoyaParque Nacional Natural TayronaSubregiones: Cordillera occidental, Cordillera central, Enclaves subxerofíticosAntioquia, Caldas, Casanare, Cesar, Cundinamarca, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta, Santander, Tolima, Valle del CaucaCanary Isl. [I] (La Palma [I], Tenerife [I], Gran Canaria [I], Fuerteventura [I], Lanzarote [I]); Benin [I]; Madagascar [I]; Mauritius [I]; La Réunion [I]; Aldabra [I] (Aldabra Isl. [I], Cosmoledo Isl. [I], Astove Isl. [I], St. Pierre Isl. [I], Farquhar Isl. [I]); Seychelles [I] (incl. Remire Isl. [I], Desroches Isl. [I], Coetivy Isl. [I], Darros Isl. [I]); Chagos Arch. [I] (Diego Garcia [I]); India [I] (Andhra Pradesh [I], Bihar [I], Karnataka [I], Madhya Pradesh [I], Maharashtra [I], Odisha [I], Puducherry [I], Tamil Nadu [I], Uttar Pradesh [I], West Bengal [I]); Maldives [I]; Sri Lanka [I]; Bangladesh [I]; Andaman Isl. [I]; Myanmar [I]; Thailand [I]; peninsular Malaysia [I]; Singapore [I]; Borneo [I]; Sulawesi [I]; Philippines [c]; Java [I]; Cocos [Keeling] Isl. [I]; Christmas Isl. [Austr.] [I]; Fiji [I]; Hawaii [I] (Kauai [I], Molokai [I]); USA [I] (Florida [I]); Mexico (Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Colima, Durango, Guerrero, Jalisco, Mexico State, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas); Belize; El Salvador; Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama; Bahamas; Turks & Caicos Isl.; Cuba; Cayman Isl.; Jamaica; Hispaniola; Puerto Rico [I]; Virgin Isl. (Guana, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, Tortola, Virgin Gorda); Anguilla; St. Martin/St. Maarten; St. Barthélémy; Saba; St. Eustatius; Nevis; St. Kitts; Guadeloupe; Martinique; St. Lucia; Trinidad & Tobago [I]; Curacao; San Andres y Providencia (San Andres, Providencia y Santa Catalina); Ecuador [I]; Galapagos [I]AldabraAndaman Is.BahamasBangladeshBelizeBermudaBorneoBrazil West-CentralCanary Is.Caroline Is.Cayman Is.Central American Pacific Is.Chagos ArchipelagoChristmas I.Cocos (Keeling) Is.ComorosCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEl SalvadorFijiFloridaGuatemalaHaitiHawaiiHondurasIndiaJamaicaJawaLeeward Is.Line Is.LouisianaMalayaMauritiusMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNicaraguaPanamáPuerto RicoRéunionSeychellesSouthwest CaribbeanSri LankaSumateraThailandTrinidad-TobagoTurks-Caicos Is.VietnamWindward Is.GlobalAUBRCICLCOESFJFMIDINIOKIKMMGMHMVMYPWSCSGSLSVTWUSWFYTZA

Images

habit (1)

Sources

taxonomy: gbif — https://www.gbif.org/species/2874852
scarcity: gbif-iucn
region.countries: gbif
summary: wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnera_ulmifolia
uses,culture: qwen3.7-max+wikipedia