Pueraria
tuberosa (Roxb. ex Willd.) DC.
FABACEAE
Vernacular names:
Hindi - Vidarikand, Tirra
Kannada - Gumadi gida
Malayalam - Palmutukku
Marathi - Badra
Sanskrit - Vidari, Vidarika
Tamil - Darigummadi, Niala-gumodi
Telugu - Dari, Gumidi
Threat
status:
Critically
Endangered (A 1 c,d) - KA
Vulnerable
(A 1 c,d) - KL & TN
Habit:
Climbing
shrub with tuberous roots
Habitat:
Dry
deciduous to moist deciduous forests
Altitude:
500 to
1200 m
Distribution: Global:
India,
Nepal and Pakistan.
National:
Widely
distributed in central, southern and eastern regions including
tropical Himalayas. Regional: Fairly common in the
lower Ghats of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, occasional in Karnataka.
Description:
A large
woody deciduous climbing shrub with huge tuberous root.
Tubers globose or pot-like, about 25 cm across, white
inside, starchy and mildly sweet. Branchlets with dense
appressed velvety hairs. Leaves alternate, 3-foliolate;
leaflets egg-shaped, about 18 x 16 em, base rounded and
unequal sided, apex acuminate, margin with fringed hairs,
hairless above, densely pubescent below; leaf stalks up to 18 cm
long; lateral nerves 7-8 pairs. Flowers bisexual,
about 1.5 cm across, bluish purple to pale violet, shortly
stalked, densely arranged in 15-25 cm long axillary panicles.
Pods linear, 2-5 cm long, distinctly constricted
between the seeds covered with dense bristly reddish brown
hairs. Seeds 3-6.
Phenology: Flowering:
December
to February;
Fruiting:
March to
June
Medicinal uses:
Tubers
used for treatment of dysuria, cough, rheumatism, erysipelas and
malarial fever.
Trade
information:
Local and
regional. Dried tubers are sold as Bidaari kanda or
Vidaarikand at As. 35 to 40/Kg. (Market Studies 1999-2000).
Tubers of Ipomoea paniculata and Trichosanthes cordata
are also sold as Vidaari kanda.
Mode
of
propagation:
By tubers,
seeds, divisions and layers
Special
characters:
A single
underground huge pot-like tuber, densely packed bluish violet
flowers and bristly reddish brown hairy fruits are notable
features of this plant.
