825

Persicaria glabra (Willd.) Gomez

Synonym	:	Persicaria densiflora Moldenke
Family	:	Polygonaceae
Local name	:	English :  Denseflower Knotweed Malayalam :  Kozhivalan
Flowering and fruiting period	:	March-July
Distribution		Pantropical
Distribution in Kerala	:	Kottayam, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Idukki,Malappuram, Wayanad
Habitat	:	Moist localities in semi-evergreen forests
IUCN status		Least concerned
Uses	:	It is not used very often, and is seen more as a domestic remedy being valued especially for its astringent properties which makes it useful in treating bleeding, skin problems, diarrhoea etc. The leaves are anti-inflammatory,astringent,carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, stimulant, stomachic, styptic.
Key Botanical Characters:  Stout herbs, procumbent below. Leaves subsessile, ,linear-lanceolate, base attenuate, apex acuminate, gland-dotted; ocrea to 1.5 cm long, tubular,glabrous, mouth with a few slender bristles. Racemes to 7 cm long, slender, lax, drooping.Bracts ovate, acute, gland-dotted. Perianth white with pink shades, gland-dotted; lobes 5,long, ovate-obtuse. Stamens 5. Nuts biconvex.