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Melastoma malabathricum L.
Synonym
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Melastoma
malabathricum subsp. malabathricum
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Family
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Melastomataceae
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Local name
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Malayalam
- Athirani, Kadali,
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Flowering and fruiting period
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Throughout the year
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Distribution
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South East Asia
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Distribution in Kerala
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All Districts
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Habitat
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Stream banks and
marshy areas
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Uses
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The leaves, shoots,
barks, seeds and roots have been used to treat diarrhoea, dysentery,
hemorrhoids, cuts and wounds, toothache, and stomach ache.
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Key
Botanical Characters:
Shrubs to 1.3 m tall;
stem densely covered with paleaceous pectinate hairs. Leaves simple,
opposite, elliptic-oblong, apex acute, base attenuate. Flowers solitary or few
in rather dense clusters, boat-shaped, densely paleaceous hairy. Calyx tube
0.7-1 cm long, campanulate, ovate-lanceolate, densely paleaceous hairy.
Petals 5, reddish purple, obovate. Stamens 10, alternating ones large and
small; anthers dimorphic, dehiscence by apical pores. Ovary ovoid, 5-locular;
ovules many; style simple. Capsules ovoid, irregularly dehiscent; seeds many,
minute. |