Nilgirianthus ciliatus (Nees) Bremek.

 Strobilanthus ciliatus Nees

 

ACANTHACEAE

 

Vernacular names:

Hindi             - Karvi

Malayalam      - Karim kurunji

Sanskrit         - Sahacarah

Tamil             - Chinna kurunji, Kurunji

 

Threat status:

Endangered (A 1 c,d)- Globally

 

Habit: Undershrub

 

Habitat: In partial shady places and along the edges of moist deciduous to evergreen forests

 

Altitude: 130 - 1000 m

 

Distribution: Endemic to southern India. Regional: Recorded in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

 

Description: Profusley branched undershrubs, 0.5-1.5 m tall. Bark thin, greenish grey, smooth. Stem woody at base, marked with many vertical lines. Branchlets hairless, lenticellate. Leaves opposite, elliptic-Ian ceo late, 10-20 x 4-8 cm, base wedge-shaped, apex acuminate, margin toothed with rounded to saw-like teeth, papery, distinctly stalked; lateral nerves 5-6 pairs, raised above. Flowers bisexual, stalkless, funnel-shaped, 1.5-2 cm long, white with purple blotches inside, arranged in axillary spikes. Spikes oblong or clavate, unbranched, 2-4 em long, hairless, bent. Capsules ovoid, about 1.5 cm long, beaked at apex, hairless. Seeds 4, compressed, hairless.

 

Phenology: Flowering & Fruiting: October to March

 

Medicinal uses: This plant is one of the accepted sources of Ayurvedic drug Sahacarah. Roots used in the treatment of neurological disorders such as paraplegia and sciatica. Also helps in healing ulcers, glandular swellings, poisonous affections, itching, leprosy, other skin diseases, cough, oedema, toothache, gum diseases and strengthening of the nerves.

 

Trade information: Local and regional. Roots priced at Rs.2.75/Kg. (Kerala, 1993). It is traded under the name Sahacarah.

 

Mode of propagation: By seeds and stem cuttings

 

Special characters: Completely hairless plants, throat of the flower with distinct white hairs, curved spikes and distinctly jointed peduncles are important field characters.