Boerhavia diffusa is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family which is commonly known as punarnava (meaning that which rejuvenates or renews the body in Ayurveda),[2] red spiderling,[1] spreading hogweed,[1] or tarvine.

It is believed[1] to be a native plant to the following places in: Botswana, Egypt, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa (Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape provinces), Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, Cambodia, China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces), India, Indonesia, Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan (Punjab, Sind, Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan), the Philippines, Southern Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

B. diffusa can be used as a fodder for livestock, but has the potential for contaminating seed stocks, and may harbor pathogens for certain crops, such as eggplants.

[4] A quinolone alkaloid, lunamarine, isolated from B. diffusa[5] has shown some in vitro anticancer,[6] antiestrogenic,[7] immunomodulatory,[8] and anti-amoebic activity (particularly against Entamoeba histolytica).