[amazon_link asins=’B01NCQDLHB,1632907941,B07FPQWH26,B07GL29SZ8,B01LZYVQE7,B07GLV6HSZ,B00CIC9MD4,B075DGDCTV,B07FXH166V’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’c473fe3a-af15-11e8-9469-578bdd8efc94′]
Botanical Name:Barleria pronitis
Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Barleria
Species:B. prionitis
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Lamiales
Common Name: Porcupine flower
Sanskrit Name: Kuranta; Marathi Name: Vjradanti, Tamil Name: Tagalog: kukong manok
Bengali Name: Kantajanti/ Peetjhanti
Habitat: Porcupine flower is found in Tropical Africa and Asia.It is grown on the roadsid
e hedges, found as an escape.
Description:
Porcupine flower is an erect, prickly shrub, usually single-stemmed, growing to about 1.5 m tall. Spines are about 1.2 cm long. Leaves are up to 5-9 x 2.5-4 cm, elliptic, pointed, with a fine point, base wedge-shaped, sparsely puberulus, fringed with hairs on the margins, gland dotted beneath, leaf-stalk up to 2 cm. Orange-yellow flowers are borne in cymes in leaf-axils; bracts 2, 1.5 cm, oblong with a fine point at the tip. Outer sepals are 1.3 x 0.4 cm, inner 1.1 x 0.2 cm, fine-tipped, hairy. Flower tube is 2.5 cm, petals 2 cm obovate, filaments 1.3 cm, staminodes 2, remaining at the base of the flower tube. Ovary is 2.5 mm, style 2.5 cm.
Medicinal uses:
Unverified information Porcupine Flower has numerous medicinal properties including treating fever, respiratory diseases, toothache, joint pains and a variety of other ailments; and it has several cosmetic uses. A mouthwash made from root tissue is used to relieve toothache and treat bleeding gums. The whole plant, leaves, and roots are used for a variety of purposes in traditional Indian medicine. For example, the leaves are used to promote healing of wounds and to relieve joint pains and toothache. Because of its antiseptic properties, extracts of the plant are incorporated into herbal cosmetics and hair products to promote skin and scalp health.
The whole plant decoction is used to
cure dropsy, paste with karanja oil (Pongamia pinnata Vent.) used to cure swellings of legs. Roots used as tonic, diuretic, febrifuge and expectorant, used to
treat pimples, swellings of joints. Leaves and leaf juice given to cure catarrhal fever of childr
en, eye diseases,
and juice applied to treat cracking soles of feet, juice and black peeper powder applied to treat paralysis,
infusion used in cough and toothache. Dried bark is used as powder to the children to treat whooping cough.
Propagation:
By immediate placement of seed/tuberous roots.
Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barleria_prionitis
http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Porcupine%20Flower.html
