Aerva lanata, the mountain knotgrass,[3] is a woody, prostrate or succulent, perennialherb in the family Amaranthaceae, native to Asia, Africa. It has been included as occurring in Australia by the US government,[1] but it is not recognised as occurring in Australia by any Australian state herbarium.[4] The plant sometimes flowers in the first year.[5][6]
Aerva lanata is a common weed which grows wild everywhere in the plains of India. The root has a camphor-like aroma. The dried flowers which look like soft spikes, are sold under the commercial names Buikallan and Boor. It is one of the plants included in Dasapushpam, the ten sacred flowers of Kerala.
Mountain knotgrass is an annual with a branching, somewhat woody root system. The stems are mostly straggling and sprawling and spread widely, sometimes as much as 6 feet (1.8 m) in length. The often stalkless leaves are alternate, oval and 0.5 to 1.5 in (13 to 38 mm) long. They grow from whitish papery stipules with two lobes and red bases. The tiny clusters of two or three flowers grow in the leaf axils. The flowers are about 0.1 in (2.5 mm) long, pink, green or dull white. The flowers are normally self-pollinated. Flowering time is from May to October.[7][unreliable source?]
Distribution and habitatedit
in thrissur, kerala
Aerva lanata is native to tropical Africa, South Africa, Madagascar, Saudi Arabia and tropical Asia.[1] The species prefers damper sites than Aerva javanica and can be found in open forests on mountain slopes, on waste and disturbed ground, deserted cultivation and coastal scrub[5] and at altitudes from sea level to 900 m (3,000 ft).[8] It is a common weed in arable fields and bare patches of ground.
Usesedit
This plant is used for food for people and animals. The whole plant, especially the leaves, is edible. The leaves are put into soup or eaten as a spinach or as a vegetable. The plant provides grazing for stock, game and chickens. The plant is used as a traditional medicine for snakebites.[7][unreliable source?]
Though the plant has a lot of medicinal properties it is quite commonly used in South India during the Tamil festival "Pongal" and Telugu harvest festival "Sankranti" as the flower of this plant is used for decoration. In Telugu language it is also called as "Pindi kommalu" and in Tamil language it is also called as Ponga-Poo, which is derived from the names Pongal – A Harvest festival of Tamil Nadu and Poo in Tamil means Flower. Other common Tamil names used for this plant are "Kannu Pillai Poo" and "Siru Poolai".[1]
The plant is also used as a talisman against evil spirits, a good-luck talisman for hunters, and a talisman for the well-being of widows.[6]
In the traditional medicine of India, the juice of crushed Aerva lanata root is used for jaundice therapy.[9]
^"Search: SPECIES: Aerva lanata". The Australasian Virtual Herbarium. Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
^ abRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew. "Amaranthaceae by C. C. Townsend". Flora Zambesiaca. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 9 (part:1). Retrieved 2008-04-28.
^ ab. Medicinal Plants Used For Snake Treatment. ToxicologyCentre.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
^Robert Freedman (20 January 1998). . Purdue University. Archived from the original on 6 April 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
^Tewari D, Mocan A, Parvanov ED, Sah AN, Nabavi SM, Huminiecki L, Ma ZF, Lee YY, Horbańczuk JO, Atanasov AG. Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Therapy of Jaundice: Part I. Front Pharmacol. 2017 Aug 15;8:518. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00518.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aerva lanata.
Wikispecies has information related to Aerva lanata.
aerva, lanata, mountain, knotgrass, woody, prostrate, succulent, perennial, herb, family, amaranthaceae, native, asia, africa, been, included, occurring, australia, government, recognised, occurring, australia, australian, state, herbarium, plant, sometimes, f. Aerva lanata the mountain knotgrass 3 is a woody prostrate or succulent perennial herb in the family Amaranthaceae native to Asia Africa It has been included as occurring in Australia by the US government 1 but it is not recognised as occurring in Australia by any Australian state herbarium 4 The plant sometimes flowers in the first year 5 6 Aerva lanataAerva lanata var rotundifoliaScientific classificationKingdom PlantaeClade TracheophytesClade AngiospermsClade EudicotsOrder CaryophyllalesFamily AmaranthaceaeGenus AervaSpecies A lanataBinomial nameAerva lanata L Juss ex Schult 1 Synonyms 2 Achyranthes lanata L Achyranthes villosa Forssk Aerva arachnoidea Gand Aerva incana Suess Aerva mozambicensis Gand Aerva sansibarica Suess Illecebrum lanatum L L in Bhuvanagiri Andhra PradeshAerva lanata is a common weed which grows wild everywhere in the plains of India The root has a camphor like aroma The dried flowers which look like soft spikes are sold under the commercial names Buikallan and Boor It is one of the plants included in Dasapushpam the ten sacred flowers of Kerala Contents 1 Description 2 Distribution and habitat 3 Uses 4 References 5 External linksDescription edit nbsp Aerva lanata From Kerala Mountain knotgrass is an annual with a branching somewhat woody root system The stems are mostly straggling and sprawling and spread widely sometimes as much as 6 feet 1 8 m in length The often stalkless leaves are alternate oval and 0 5 to 1 5 in 13 to 38 mm long They grow from whitish papery stipules with two lobes and red bases The tiny clusters of two or three flowers grow in the leaf axils The flowers are about 0 1 in 2 5 mm long pink green or dull white The flowers are normally self pollinated Flowering time is from May to October 7 unreliable source Distribution and habitat edit nbsp in thrissur keralaAerva lanata is native to tropical Africa South Africa Madagascar Saudi Arabia and tropical Asia 1 The species prefers damper sites than Aerva javanica and can be found in open forests on mountain slopes on waste and disturbed ground deserted cultivation and coastal scrub 5 and at altitudes from sea level to 900 m 3 000 ft 8 It is a common weed in arable fields and bare patches of ground Uses editThis plant is used for food for people and animals The whole plant especially the leaves is edible The leaves are put into soup or eaten as a spinach or as a vegetable The plant provides grazing for stock game and chickens The plant is used as a traditional medicine for snakebites 7 unreliable source Though the plant has a lot of medicinal properties it is quite commonly used in South India during the Tamil festival Pongal and Telugu harvest festival Sankranti as the flower of this plant is used for decoration In Telugu language it is also called as Pindi kommalu and in Tamil language it is also called as Ponga Poo which is derived from the names Pongal A Harvest festival of Tamil Nadu and Poo in Tamil means Flower Other common Tamil names used for this plant are Kannu Pillai Poo and Siru Poolai 1 The plant is also used as a talisman against evil spirits a good luck talisman for hunters and a talisman for the well being of widows 6 In the traditional medicine of India the juice of crushed Aerva lanata root is used for jaundice therapy 9 References edit a b c Aerva lanata Germplasm Resources Information Network Agricultural Research Service United States Department of Agriculture Retrieved 2008 04 27 Aerva lanata L Juss ex Schult record n 177 African Plants Database South African National Biodiversity Institute the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Geneve and Tela Botanica Archived from the original on 2007 10 12 Retrieved 2008 04 27 Aerva lanata EPPO Global Database European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization EPPO Retrieved 2019 10 06 Search SPECIES Aerva lanata The Australasian Virtual Herbarium Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria Retrieved 2018 03 20 a b Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Amaranthaceae by C C Townsend Flora Zambesiaca Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew 9 part 1 Retrieved 2008 04 28 a b Aerva lanata Linn Juss family AMARANTHACEAE Global Plants JSTOR Retrieved 2019 09 05 a b Aerva lanata Medicinal Plants Used For Snake Treatment ToxicologyCentre com Archived from the original on 2013 12 13 Retrieved 2013 12 10 Robert Freedman 20 January 1998 Famine Foods AMARANTACEAE Purdue University Archived from the original on 6 April 2008 Retrieved 20 April 2008 Tewari D Mocan A Parvanov ED Sah AN Nabavi SM Huminiecki L Ma ZF Lee YY Horbanczuk JO Atanasov AG Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Therapy of Jaundice Part I Front Pharmacol 2017 Aug 15 8 518 doi 10 3389 fphar 2017 00518 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aerva lanata nbsp Wikispecies has information related to Aerva lanata Aerva lanata Integrated Taxonomic Information System Retrieved 27 June 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aerva lanata amp oldid 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