Chaff-flower
Scientific name
Achyranthes aspera L.
English Name
Chaff-flower
Malayalam name
കടലാടി, വന്കടലാടി
Common name
Pricky chaff flower
Description
- Habit : Herb
- Habitat : Deciduous forests and plantations, also in the plains
- Leaves : broadly elliptic to obovate, apex abruptly acuminate
- Flowers : deflexed, greenish white
- Achenes : long, ovoid, brown.
How to use
- The dried plant is used as a laxative and is also used for treating gonorrhea and colic.
- The juice of the plant is used to treat dysentery.
- The leaves are made into a paste with water and applied to relieve bite of poisons insects, bees and wasps.
- The decoction of the powdered leaves with honey is used in the early stages of diarrhea and dysentery.
Parts used
Whole plant
Uses
Diuretic and laxative
Propagation & Cultivation
Propagation through seeds. It is normally a weed and hence collected from nature.