Violet Asystasia is one of the weeds we often overlook although very beautiful. If you have an interest in photographing flora, you will surely find that its flower is so photogenic.
It Violet Asystasia is commonly known by the name
Important Details
Plant Type: Herb
Family: Acanthaceae
Scientific name: Asystasia dalzelliana
Height: ~50 cm
Flowers: Purple, 4 cm long, 5 lobes
Flowering: September to November
Common name in Malayalam: Uppudali/Upputheli
Appearance
Asystasia is about 50 cm tall with purple flowers occurring in a line at the terminal.
The flower has five petals or lobes with the lower lobe bigger with a dark purple shade. Flowering usually starts from the month of September and lasts till around November.
The oval-shaped leaves have opposite arrangement.
It looks very similar to A.gangetica. Both often grows on the same premises and acts as a host plant for butterflies like Spotted Flat.
Distribution
According to Catalogue of Life, Asystasia dalzelliana is found in southern India, mainly the Western Ghats.
Although its range of distribution is very limited, it is common in places where it occurs. Like many of the pea plant, it grows well in shady conditions.
Traditional Uses & Medicinal Values
The stem of this plant had been used in places like Kerala to refine impure salt. The crushed stem is added to boiling salt water. Continue to boil it until the impurities start floating above the water. Remove these impurities o obtain pure salt water. That is how the plant got the name Uppudali – Uppu meaning salt in Malayalam.
Apart from this, the herb had been used in certain parts of Africa to treat arthritis. Recent studies also reveal that the extracts of this plant can be helpful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in modern medicinal system
wat een beauty weer het is echt genieten bij je .
Truly you said that v ignore plants…but v 4get tht thy r d source of our life…..
Wonderful capture 🙂