About Turnera ulmifolia L.
Turnera ulmifolia L. is an erect-growing plant with dark, toothed leaves and small yellow-orange flowers. It is commonly found growing as a weed along roadsides, and can also grow on walls, cement blocks, and rocks, surviving on minimal water. Its yellow flowers open around 6:00 a.m. and wilt around 11:30 a.m., giving each flower a lifespan of approximately six hours. Larvae of the Tawny Coster butterfly (Acraea terpsicore) feed on this plant. In horticultural trade, Turnera ulmifolia L. is frequently misidentified as the closely related Turnera diffusa, so it is often mis-sold and misrepresented as "Damiana".
