Beijing @ angel grass / Wan Noorli Razali

• Main Author: Razali, Wan Noorli
• Format: Monograph
• Language: English
• Published: Academy of Language Studies 2024
• Subjects: Pulau Pinang; Universiti Teknologi MARA
• Online Access: https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/90080/1/90080.pdf; https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/90080/

Murdannia Loriformis or Rolla Rao et Kammathy, a plant native to Asia is also known by the name ‘Beijing grass’ in Chinese, ‘Angel grass’ in English, ‘Rumput Siti Khadijah’ in Malay and ‘Ya Pak King’ in Thai. It is a perennial herb belonging to the monocotyledonous group, typically reaching a height of around 10 cm. The basal leaves are simple, featuring linear blades that are alternate and smooth. While the main stem remains underdeveloped, numerous fertile stems emerge from the rosette, ranging from diffuse to ascending and measuring 15–50 cm. These stems are either smooth or slightly hairy on one side, with rare instances of dense hair coverage. The basal leaves have linear blades, measuring 5–15 cm in length and 6–9 mm in width. Terminal flowers form an inflorescence that is densely panicle. Involucral bracts, smaller than the leaves, are leaflike, with extremely small distal ones measuring less than 10 mm and a peduncle of about 2.5 cm. Pedicels are slightly curved, and translucent bracts are around 4 mm. Sepals are ovate-elliptic, herbaceous, and approximately 3 mm in size. Petals exhibit a blue or bluish-violet hue, with an obovateorbicular shape. The capsule is ovoid, globose, and trigonous, measuring about 3–4 mm. Seeds, typically two per valve, are yellow-brown, radiate, striate, and intricately marked with fine white reticulations. Rhizomes are notably absent, and the roots are fibrous, ranging from glabrous to tomentose, with a diameter of approximately 0.5–1 mm. The flowering season spans from May to October.