Species
+

Phyllanthus myrtifolius (Wight) Müll.Arg.

Phyllanthaceae

Climate known 19 photographs Bulb, tuber or caudex
Add one to my plants Sow seed

Every figure on this page is derived from public data by a stated rule and says its source; nothing here is written by a person or a model, except the Wikipedia passage, which is quoted and marked as such. How it is made.

Summary

Phyllanthus myrtifolius, known as mousetail plant or myrtle-leaf leaf-flower, is a shrub belonging to the genus Phyllanthus of the family Phyllanthaceae endemic to island of Sri Lanka.

Text from Wikipedia, “Phyllanthus myrtifolius”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written. Kept separate from everything derived here.

About the genus · Phyllanthus

Phyllanthus is the largest genus in the plant family Phyllanthaceae. Estimates of the number of species in this genus vary widely, from 750 to 1200. Phyllanthus has a remarkable diversity of growth forms including annual and perennial herbs, shrubs, climbers, floating aquatics, and pachycaulous succulents. More on Wikipedia ›

The opening of Wikipedia, “Phyllanthus”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written.

Family
Phyllanthaceae
Described by
(Wight) Müll.Arg.
Native to
Sri Lanka
Wild records
8 in range· 4 open

At a glance

Warmest month
30°C
Apr, mean day; nights 22 °C (CHELSA)
Rain
2479mm/yr
12 wet months · peak Nov 383 mm (CHELSA)
Light
27–40DLI
mol/m²/day, winter to summer, open sky (CHELSA shortwave)
In short condensed by rule from the cultivation cards · not written by a person
Grouped as a bulb, tuber or caudex by the genus Phyllanthus, which is reliably one kind of plant (archetype table). Rain rule: a sharp rainy season, April to June and September to December at the habitat (not shifted); the temperature curve is flat (3.5 °C of range), so no growing season is inferred. Habitat rain 2479 mm a year, wettest November at 383 mm, driest February at 106 mm (habitat calendar, northern hemisphere). Open sky over the habitat: 27 to 40 mol/m²/day. Cold floor 14.7 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).
Each sentence is one card's own one-line form, written by the same rule as the card (Its year, Rain, Light, Temperature); the note cannot say what a card does not. Months are given for the northern hemisphere (set your site in Settings to change this), and the habitat's own alongside. The cards · the figures.

Also known as Diasperus myrtifolius (Wight) Kuntze; Macraea myrtifolia Wight; Phyllanthus myrtifolius Moon ex Hook.f.

Cultivation

Grouped as a bulb, tuber or caudex by the genus Phyllanthus, which is reliably one kind of plant (archetype table). The table holds no figure for this group, which spans too much for one minimum; the cold floor is the habitat's alone, and no prose comes from the table.

Its year Rain rule: a sharp rainy season, April to June and September to December at the habitat (not shifted); the temperature curve is flat (3.5 °C of range), so no growing season is inferred.

This species’ habitat figures, and what two fixed rules read from them.

The rain rule reads a sharp season: 70% of the year's rain (1827 mm of 2479 mm) falls in April to June and September to December. The temperature curve is flat, 3.5 °C between the warmest and coldest month, so the growing-season rule does not infer a growing season from it. Months are the habitat's, northern hemisphere, within 10° of the equator; with no thermal season there there is no season to reverse, so they are not shifted for a collection elsewhere.

Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the envelope cells: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve gives a season to reverse. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain Habitat rain 2479 mm a year, wettest November at 383 mm, driest February at 106 mm (habitat calendar, northern hemisphere).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

2479 mm a year at the habitat, 1827 mm of it April to June and September to December. Wettest month November at 383 mm, driest February at 106 mm. Across the envelope cells the year's total runs 1601 mm to 3457 mm (10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year) (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; habitat calendar, northern hemisphere).

CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the envelope cells. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light Open sky over the habitat: 27 to 40 mol/m²/day.

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Open sky over the habitat: 27 to 40 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 22, the highest 90th-percentile month 40).

CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Warmth and air Cold floor 14.7 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Temperature

Coldest: the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell is 14.7 °C, the absolute minimum 11.5 °C, no frost in 44 years (NASA POWER daily minima). Warmest: the 99th-percentile day is 36.2 °C. Monthly means: coldest night 19.2 °C in February (across the envelope cells 17.2 °C to 21.9 °C), warmest day 29.9 °C in April (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). Cold floor: 14.7 °C, which is the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell (NASA POWER).

NASA POWER daily minima and maxima 1981–2024 at the typical cell, lapse-corrected to its elevation; CHELSA monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA. The cold floor is the figure named in its sentence. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 62 to 71% across the year (monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the envelope cells.

The figures the cards read from are in Climate below, and where they came from in Natural habitat.

Climate across the habitat

Habitat climate through the yearMean day from 26 °C in Dec to 30 °C in Apr; mean night from 19 °C in Feb to 23 °C in May. The cold quarter, Jan to Mar, is the three months around the coldest night. 2479 mm of rain a year, most in Nov. The bands show the 10th to 90th percentile across 7 habitat cells. Over 44 years at the typical cell the absolute minimum was 11.5 °C and the 99th-percentile day 36.2 °C; neither is dated to a month. Beneath: daily light integral and relative humidity through the year, each on its own scale.10°15°20°25°30°35°40°36.2° 99th-percentile day (undated)11.5° lowest night in 44 yrs (undated)°C · day and nightcold quarter0100200300400500mm rainDLI 27–40RH 62–71 %JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain 10th–90th percentile across 7 habitat cells cold quarter: the three months around the coldest night extremes over 44 years at the typical cell, marked at the edge: undated DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C26 / 24–2928 / 26–3130 / 28–3230 / 28–3129 / 27–3128 / 26–3028 / 26–3028 / 26–3028 / 26–3128 / 26–2927 / 25–2826 / 24–29
Night °C19 / 17–2219 / 17–2220 / 18–2322 / 20–2423 / 21–2422 / 21–2422 / 20–2322 / 20–2322 / 20–2321 / 19–2321 / 19–2220 / 18–22
Rain mm167 / 109–229106 / 80–179145 / 88–236269 / 159–359230 / 95–343200 / 50–278124 / 51–195110 / 49–199182 / 89–258329 / 223–429383 / 298–490234 / 163–304
DLI31 / 25–3337 / 34–3840 / 39–4037 / 36–3932 / 31–3930 / 30–3831 / 30–3832 / 31–3932 / 32–3731 / 30–3327 / 25–2927 / 22–29
RH %66 / 61–7262 / 59–6863 / 61–6566 / 63–7069 / 62–7471 / 63–7570 / 62–7469 / 61–7468 / 61–7369 / 65–7269 / 68–7268 / 65–73

Each figure is the median across the 7 grid cells holding the 8 in-range records, with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. Extremes and elevation were read at the typical cell 1654:5211 (7.275, 80.575). Over 44 years there: absolute minimum 11.5 °C, 1st-percentile night 14.7 °C, 99th-percentile day 36.2 °C. Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Envelope: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 7 distinct grid cells holding the 8 in-range records; extremes and elevation at the typical cell 1654:5211 (its coldest month's mean night nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 7.50_80.625, lapse-corrected +232 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 529 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across every in-range record's cell, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.
NativeSri Lanka· introduced: Hainan, China Southeast, Taiwan, Bangladesh, India, Thailand
Kew's description“subshrub or shrub” · “wet tropical”· quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Map marker7.266, 80.597 · in the densest population, 8 records (100% of those in range)
Evidence usedThe map marker and the climate envelope rest on all 8 georeferenced records inside the native range; the map shows only the 4 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 14 km away. 114 records outside the range (gardens, roadsides, misidentifications) ignored. Under a dozen records: treat the map and the climate as indicative.
The map markerthe map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population of the 8 in-range records; it decides nothing.

Photographs

Phyllanthus myrtifoliusPhyllanthus myrtifoliusPhyllanthus myrtifoliusPhyllanthus myrtifoliusPhyllanthus myrtifoliusPhyllanthus myrtifoliusPhyllanthus myrtifoliusPhyllanthus myrtifolius

Photographs: (c) Eugene Popov, some rights reserved (CC BY) (4); (c) Валерия Ковалева, some rights reserved (CC BY) (2); no rights reserved · CC0 (2).

Photographs: iNaturalist did not answer when this page was built; what is shown came from the sources that did.

Papers naming this species

Works whose title or abstract names Phyllanthus myrtifolius, most cited first, from OpenAlex (CC0). A mention, not a cultivation source: nothing on this page is drawn from them.

In vitro antibacterial, antioxidant, total phenolic contents and anti-HIV-1 reverse transcriptase activities of extracts of seven Phyllanthus sp
I.M.S. Eldeen, E-M. Seow, Reduan Abdullah, S.F. Sulaiman (2010) · South African Journal of Botany
Antiviral Tannins from Two Phyllanthus Species
Karin C. S. Chen Liu, Mei-Tsu Lin, Shoei‐Sheng Lee, Jwo-Farn Chiou (1999) · Planta Medica
Six Lignans from Phyllanthus myrtifolius
Shoei‐Sheng Lee, Mei-Tsu Lin, Chao‐Lin Liu, Yung-Yaw Lin (1996) · Journal of Natural Products
Phyllamyricins A-C, Three Novel Lignans from Phyllanthus myrtifolius
Mei-Tsu Lin, Shoei‐Sheng Lee, Karin C. S. Chen Liu (1995) · Journal of Natural Products
Rapid screening of lignans from Phyllanthus myrtifolius and stilbenoids from Syagrus romanzoffiana by HPLC‐SPE‐NMR
Chen‐Yu Wang, Sio‐Hong Lam, Li‐Hong Tseng, Shoei‐Sheng Lee (2011) · Phytochemical Analysis
Brown Root Rot Disease of Phyllanthus myrtifolius: The Causal Agent and Two Potential Biological Control Agents
Ka-Tung Leung, Chi‐Yu Chen, Bang‐Jau You, Lee Mh (2020) · Plant Disease
Three Novel Triterpenoid Dienolides from Phyllanthus myrtifolius
Shoei‐Sheng Lee, Pennaka Hari Kishore, Chung‐Hsiung Chen (2002) · Helvetica Chimica Acta
PHYLLANTHUS MYRTIFOLIUS (MOON EX WIGHT) MULL.ARG. AND PHYLLANTHUS TENELLUS ROXB. (PHYLLANTHACEAE) IN JAVA
Muhammad Rifqi Hariri, Arifin Surya Dwipa Irsyam, Afri Irawan, Zakaria Al Anshori (2020) · Floribunda
An Acetylated Triterpene Glycoside and Lignans from Phyllanthus myrtifolius and their Antibacterial Activities
Neneng Windayani, Lia Dewi Juliawaty, Euis Holisotan Hakim, Komar Ruslan (2015) · The Natural Products Journal

Similar habitat climate the 6 species whose habitat climate is nearest this one's: mean day and night, month by month, and rain on a log scale, in calendar order, so a habitat with the same seasons six months out is far, not near. Nothing else counts: not range, not family.

Other Phyllanthus 2 in the reference

History & registers

Where this page came from built 2026-09-20 · dossier v2 · node
gbif.species answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.synonyms answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.vernacular answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
wcvp.distribution answered
gbif.occurrences answeredGBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.3h4zam
climate answered
wikidata answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
wikipedia answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19; this build: skipped
inat.taxon not asked
inat.photos.wild answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19; this build: skipped
inat.photos.cultivated nothing to reportcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
commons nothing to reportcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
gbif.media answered
openalex answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19; this build: skipped

Every upstream is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, or refused. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 12 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.