Botanical Name Plant's Common Name Plant Family   

   MH209 : Justicia simplex D. Don

Plant Category : Herbs

Melghat's Flora's Serial No. : 393

Synonym : Justicia japonica Thunb.; Rostellaria mollissima Nees.; Rostellaria rotundifolia Nees.; Rostellularia japonica (Thunb.) Ellis.;

Plant Common Name : Jagotmodon

Plant Family : Acanthaceae

Description : An erect, up to 50 cm herb, with quadrangular, zigzag, ribbed, strigose twigs. Leaves with 3–5 mm long, hairy petiole; lamina elliptic-lanceolate, 2.5–4.5 cm x 7–12 mm, scabrous above, strigose along the nerves banes cystoliths lineolate, entire, apex acute, base cuneate. Inflorescence sessile or stalked, cylindrical, (2–) 3–6 (–8) cm long, axillary and terminal, erect spikes. Flowers pink or purplish-pink, c.8 mm long; bracts elliptic-ovate, 3–4 mm x 1.5–2 mm, scarious with green midrib, pilose; bracteoles narrower and akin to bracts. Calyx usually deeply 4–lobed, rarely 3–lobed due to reduction lobes lanceolate, c. 4 mm long, scarious margined, long hairy. Corolla tube c. 3 mm long, narrow, glabrous outside, upper lip c. 3 mm long, slightly bilobed, hairy outside, lower lip ovate-suborbicular, c. 3 mm long, hairy outside, shorthy 3–lobed. Staminal filaments c. 2 mm long, basally dilated, anthers oblong 0.6–0.7 mm long. Ovary oblong, c. 1.5 mm long, pubescent; style filiform, c. 4 mm long, basally hairy. Capsule shortly stipitate, oblong, 3–4 mm long, hair' glabrescent. Seeds ± ovate, c. 1 mm long, rugose. Fl. Per.: June-August.

Plant Location in Melghat : -

Medicinal Use / Activity : The plant is diuretic, stomachic, expectorant, anthelmintic, diaphoretic and aperient; removes indigestion, biliousness, fever and burning of the body; strengthens the lungs, the teeth, stops vomiting; good in diseases of the spleen. Along with black pepper given in ague. Leaf juice is dropped into eyes in case of ophthalmia. rheumatism, inflammation and bronchitis. anti-cancer;

Plant's Phytochemicals : COMPOUNDS: Beta-sitosterol; Simplexoside; Helioxanthin; (+)-Sesamin; triacontanoic ester of 5-hydroxy justisolin;

ACTIVE COMPOUNDS (3):

Beta-sitosterol;

Helioxanthin;

Sesamin;

Plant's Current Status :

Plant's Cross Database Reference : 259142

Reference : Dhore M. A. (1984) The flora of melghat tiger reserve - http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=250084310 - http://www.mpbd.info/plants/justicia_simplex.php - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28163117

Reference : ~ Dhore MA and Joshi PA; "Flora of Melghat Tiger Reserve"; Directorate, Project Tiger, Melghat (1988); PMID :

Kingdom : Plantae - Plants
Phylum : Tracheophyta
Subkingdom : Tracheobionta - Vascular plants
Superdivision : Spermatophyta - Seed plants
Division : Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class : Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Subclass : Asteridae
Order : Scrophulariales
Family : Acanthaceae - Acanthus family
Genus : Justicia L. - water-willow
Species : Justicia simplex

Justicia simplex
Justicia simplex