White Eye
Mitracarpus hirtus
Rubiaceae
Medicianl, food
White eye is an annual herb with erect or spreading stems, 20-60 cm long. Leaves are elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate and 2-6 x 0.5-1.5 cm, while flowers occur in dense axillary clusters and are very small. It grows in disturbed places, along roads, tracks in forests and in cultivated land. White eye has is known to be resistance to PSI herbicides (paraquat, diquat - agronomy Australia proceedings). Visually, white eye looks similar to known weeds in the plant family Rubiaceae, specifically Richardia spp., and Spermacoce spp.
White eye is impacted by African cassava mosaic virus (African cassava mosaic). In Brazil, seven types of fungi were found on this plant(Pereira): 1. Puccinia mitracarpii sp. nov., 2. Cercospora mitracarpi-hirti sp. nov, 3. Pseudocercospora borreriae, 4. Passalora pseudocapnodioides sp. nov., 5. Passalora mitracarpi-hirti sp. nov., 6. Curvularia borreriae, 7. Cladosporium cladosporioidesCladosporium cladosporioides is reported to cause raceme blight on macadamia flowers. White eye is a known host of the Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). A closely related plant (Richardia brasiliensis) is a known host of Green vegetable bug in Hawaii (Jones et al., 2001), so it is possible that Green vegetable bug, other vegetable bug types and shield bugs are associated with this weed. Cotton aphids have been reported on this plant (Aphis gossypii Glover). Orosius cellulosus (Leafhopper) and Cotton virescence phytoplasm are hosts of mitracarpus scaber, so Mitracarpus hirtus may also be pest hosts as well. It is reported to be pollinated by various insects (including bees) and ants.