Name: Stone-breaker, Arq AL-Nada
Scientific name: Phyllanthus niruri
Type: Herb
Color: Green
Habitat: Gardens
Size: 30 - 40 cm
Introduced
Growth form: Annual herb. Flowering. Not known. Status: Introduced. First published record: Abdel Bari (1997). Not in other Gulf areas. Habitat & distribution: Recorded as ‘widespread’ in gardens. Uses: As its English name indicates, well-known as a cure for kidney stones and also used to treat liver diseases. Dried leaves and extracts of the plant are sold commercially around the world. Other reported uses include to aid digestion, relieve pain and to treat malaria and other fevers. Notes: P. amarus Schumach. is closely-related and has similar uses (this is much more common as a naturalised species than P. niruri).