1297

 

Eclipta prostrata (L.) L.

Synonym	:	Eclipta alba (L.) Hassk.
Family	:	Compositae
Local name	:	English - Bhringaraj Malayalam - Kanjunni, Kayyunni
Flowering and fruiting period	:	Throughout the year
Distribution	:	Pantropical
Distribution in Kerala	:	All Districts
Habitat	:	Paddy fields and moist localities
Uses	:	It is a famous herb known for its benefits and usage in hair growth and liver disorders. It is also an effective medicine for skin diseases, cough, asthma and eye disorders.
Key Botanical Characters:  Herbs, caespitose, up to 25 cm high; stems terete, appressed strigose. Leaves simple, opposite, oblong, oblong-lanceolate or oblong-elliptic, acute or subacuminate at apex, cuneate at base, entire, densely strigose, sessile or subsessile. Heads 4-5 mm across; peduncles appressed strigose. Ray florets 2-3- seriate. Sepals minute, ovate, acute, membranous. Corolla with 2 unequal, obtuse-tipped lobes at apex. Disk florets numerous, corolla campanulate; lobes 4, ovate, ciliate on margin. Stamens 4 or 5, sagittate. Ovary long, hairy at apex; style branches 2, pubescent. Palea hairy in the upper two-third portion. Achenes yellowish brown to brown, oblong-turbinate, dorsiventrally compressed and sharply angled, hairy at apex.