Ma Ti Jin

Dichondra repens (and the closely allied D. micrantha) is a low, creeping perennial herb of the Convolvulaceae, forming dense mats only 2–5 cm high across moist, shaded ground in subtropical and warm-temperate Asia, Australia, and naturalised elsewhere. The slender prostrate stems root freely at the nodes. Each long-petioled leaf bears a single small, reniform to broadly cordate blade 0.5–2.5 cm wide, soft and finely pubescent, vaguely resembling a horse's hoof or kidney — the source of common names 'horseshoe vine' and 'kidney weed'. Solitary, inconspicuous pale-greenish to white funnelform flowers about 2–3 mm across arise singly in the leaf axils on short pedicels. The entire above-ground plant is gathered fresh or air-dried for medicinal use, especially during the growing season.