Botany
Kulutkulutan erect, more or less hairy, branched annual, often half-woody shrub, growing to a height of 0.5 to 1.5 meters. Leaves are variable, usually orbicular to rhomboid-ovate, 2 to 6 centimeters in length, entire or 3-lobed, the upper ones oblong to ovate-lanceolate, smaller and not lobed. Flowers are yellow, numerous, about 6 millimeters long, borne on dense axillary fascicles. Fruit is small, rounded, hairy, covered with hooked, smooth spines.

Distribution
- Very common in open waste places in all islands and provinces, at low and medium altitudes.
- Certainly introduced.
- Now pantropic.

Parts used
Roots, leaves.

Constituents
- Plant yields carbohydrate glycosides, phytosterols, steroids, flavonoids, tannin, phenolic compounds and triterpenoids.

Properties
- Roots, bark, leaves are mucilaginous and in decoction are astringent.

Uses
Folkloric
- Decoction of roots used for intestinal ulcers.
- Decoction of roots and leaves used in decoction as emollient. Also employed as antibennorrhagic.
- Zulu women use a hot infusion of roots used to facilitate childbirth or hasten inception of parturition.
- Bark and fresh leaves used in diarrhea.
- Roots, bark, and leaves are mucilaginous; considered astringent in infusion or decoction.
- In Rwanda, used as abortifacient and for snake bites.
- In Nepal, leaves used for boils.

Studies
• Antitumor / Antioxidant: Antitumore and Antioxidant Activities of Triumfetta rhomboidea Against Dalton's Ascites Lymphoma Bearing Swiss Albino Mice: Study indicates the methanol extract of TR exhibited significant antumor and antioxidant activty in vivo.
• Antimicrobial / Chemical Composition: Composition and antimicrobial activities of the essential oil of Triumfetta rhomboidea Jacq.: Antimicrobial tests showed mild activity against E coli and Enterococcus hirae. The main constituents were trans-B-caryophyllene, kessane and caryophyllene oxide.
• Immune Modulating: Complement modulating activity of Rwandan medicinal plants: TR was one of the Rwandan medicinal plants studied for complement modulating activity.
• Phytochemicals: Study yielded b-sitosterol, friedelin, friedelinol quercetin, 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone and rosmarinic acid.
• Antibacterial: Study yielded carbohydrate glycosides, phytosterols, steroids, flavonoids, tannin, phenolic compounds and triterpenoids. Results showed TR exhibited good antibacterial action.

Availability
Wildcrafted.