Four-leaved Peperomia

Peperomia tetraphylla is native to Pantropical. The plant is harvested from the wild for local medicinal use, and grown as an ornamental. It has been claimed to possess various medicinal properties. It is an important medicinal plant, used in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and in folk medicine for treating several ailments. The plant forms dense mats of growth, so should make a good ground cover in woodland.

No found data on this. Need further research.

It occurs on trees in wet forests, mist and gully forests; on fallen logs, in grass by river banks, rocky knolls, semi-evergreen bushland; at elevations from 180-2,800 m.

• Stems - with tufted creeping glabrous stems, 5–27 cm long, sometimes forming mats on tree branches.
• Leaves - sometimes reddish beneath, in whorls of (3–)4, elliptic to ± round, obovate or rhombic, 0.6–1.7 cm. long, 0.4–1.3 cm. wide, rounded at the apex, cuneate at the base, fleshy, shiny and glabrous, obscurely 3-nerved; petiole 1–3 mm. long.
• Flowers - spikes green or yellowish, (0.5–)1.5–4.5 cm. long; peduncle (0.6–)1–1.5(–3) cm. long; bracts round, 0.6 mm. wide, entire or crenate, usually glabrous.
• Fruits - narrowly ellipsoid or ovoid, ± 1 mm. long, partly sunk into the rhachis with an indistinct cupule-like structure at base, and symmetrical style at apex.
• Seeds - nuts brownish red, 1–1.2 mm. long, 0.3–0.4 mm. wide.

Vegetatively propagated by leaf cuttings, stem tip cuttings, and ground layering. 

Alkaloids, steroids, flavonoids, terpenoids, glycosides, tannins, amino acids.

• The plant is used for treatment of a number of ailments like urinary disorders, cardiac problems, microbial infections, diarrhoea and diabetes.
• A juice of the whole plant is employed in treatment of convulsions, skin diseases, cough, asthma like symptoms and kidney disorders.
• The crushed leaves are applied as poultices to relieve the skin irritation produced by the plant Rhus striata.