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CLASSIFICATION

ORDER	: Pieperales
FAMILY	: Aristocholochiaceae
GENUS	: Aristolochia L.
SPECIES	: bracteolata Lam.
BOTANICAL NAME	: Aristolochia bracteolata Lam.
SYNONYMS	: Aristolochia bracteata Retz.
COMMON NAME	: Worm Killer, Dutchman's Pipe, Bracteated Birth Wort
TAMIL NAME	: ishvara-muli, mampancan, peru-maruntu
HINDI NAME	: isharmul, vishapaha

PLANT DESCRIPTION

HABIT:  A perennial prostrate, herb, with an unpleasant smell.

STEM :  Stem striate, glabrous.

LEAVES:  Leaves, glabrous, 1.5-3 cm long, lamina ovate, obtuse, sagittate at the base, margin wavy, 3-7 x 3-7 cm, glabrous above, glaucous beneath, petiole striate

INFLORESCENCE:  solitary, axillary.

FLOWER:  bracteate, bracts large, orbicular, 1-1.3 cm long, glabrous. Pedicel 5-10 mm long. Perianth 2.5-4 cm long, irregular, tubular with a linear lip, glabrous externally, hairy within, dark purple on the side of the lip, greenish yellow on the other side and in the tubular portion. Stamens 6, sessile, anthers united with a 6-lobed gynostegium, lobes ± ovate, acute, c. 1 mm long. Ovary inferior; placentation parietal in upper portion, placentae intruded and meeting in the centre, exile below.

FRUIT:  Capsule 2-3 cm long, 12-ribbed, glabrous.

SEED :  Seeds many, 5-7 mm long, flat and dark coloured.

MEDICINAL USES

The paste of the leaf of Kitamari is applied over the wounds for helping in quick healing.

The decoction of the leaf of Aristolochia bracteolate is consumed in a dose of 50 ml to treat dysmenorrhea and difficulty in labor.

The decoction of the bark or whole plant is taken in a dose of about 40 ml to treat intestinal worm.

The paste of the leaf of Kitamari is applied over eczema for its treatment.

The powder of the seed of Aristolochia bracteolate is given with powder of black pepper to treat fever.

The paste of the root of Aristolochia bracteolate is applied over the area over localized swelling for its treatment.

IMAGES

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