Andrographis paniculata
Family: ACANTHACEAE
Malayalam Name(s): Kaakanjiram, Kiriyathu, Nilavepu, Nilamkanjiram
Tamil name(s): Kalmegh
Habit: Herb
Flowering & Fruiting: March-December
Medicinal: Yes
Habitat: Scrub jungles, also in the plains
Distribution: Peninsular India and Sri Lanka
Monocot/Dicot: Dicotyledonous Plants
Description: Slender herbs; branches glabrous. Leaves simple, opposite, 9 x 1.5 cm, elliptic, acuminate at apex, base acute, decussate, glabrous. Panicle terminal and upper axillary, glandular-hairy; flowers many, distant. Calyx lobes 3 mm long, linear, hairy, connate at base. Corolla 14 mm long, pink or white with purple dots, tube ventricose, hairy, upper lip entire, midlobe of lower lip broader than laterals, acute, glandular-hairy. Ovary puberulus, style hairy. Capsule 20-30 x 3 mm, oblong, acute, hairy; retinacula spoon shaped; seeds 8, glabrous.
