Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Rhinacanthus communis - Rhina canthus - Snake jasmine - Naga malli

Rhinacanthus communis is commonly known as Rhina canthus and snake jasmine...It is known as Nagamalli in tamil...


Class: Dicotyledons

Sub-class: Gamopetalae

Series: Bicarpellatae

Order: Personales

Family: Acanthaceae

Distribution:

Rhinacanthus communis is distributed in tropical and subtropical region,Madagascar,India,Srilanka and Java..It is a common shrub in partial shades along hedges of villages..It runs wild and is common on road sides..

Description:

Rhinacanthus communis is an erect,branched shrub...The stem is aerial,erect,branched,cylindrical,hairy...Leaves are simple,exstipulate,opposite,decussate,entire,elliptic...The inflorescence is cymose and has divaricate panicles..The flowers are bisexual,zygomorphic and usually are associated with conspicuous,often brightly coloured bracts..The calyx is usually deeply 4 or 5 lobed...The corolla is bilipped with lower broad 3 lobes...

Uses:

It possesses antiseptic properties..Root boiled with milk is used as aphroidisiac..Roots powdered and made in to a paste with lime juice is useful for eczema,ring worm and dhobi itch..Juice of leaves is effacious when applied to eczema...Leaves crushed with salt is externally applied for ring worm...Leaves when chewed have a pungent taste and are used againnst cancer..Roots,leaves and seeds are useful remedies of ring worm and other skin diseases...



No comments:

Post a Comment

Hi,

Thanx for stopping by my home blog..Hope you enjoyed reading my articles!!Do come back for more!Subscribe via email to stay updated!:)