Scientific Name
Argemone mexicana L.
Synonyms
Family
Papaveraceae
Local Name
Pila Dutura
Habit Habitat
A prickly, branched, annual herb, up to 0.3-1.3m tall, found in sub-tropical zone.
Taxonomic Features
Leaves alternate, elliptic-oblong, pinnatifid, variegated green and white, dentate, margin prickly. Inflorescence terminal, solitary. Flower sessile, yellow, 3-6cm in diameter. Sepals prickly outside. Petals 4-6, obovate, bright yellow. Fruit a capsule, oblong or elliptic-oblong with ribs, prickly, blackish brown, dehiscing by valves.
Flowering Fruiting
March-May
Harvesting Time
May-July
Medicinal Value
Locally it is used as expectorant, worm killer and wounds healer. Paste of root with lemon juice is useful in piles. Root bark with honey is used in skin diseases. The plant juice is used to cure jaundice and dropsy. It is a poisonous plant must be used carefully.
Parts Used
Juice and seed
Future Prospective
Conservation, Collection, Cultivation, Herbal Pharmacy, Allopathic Pharmacy.
Plant Images
Argemone mexicana L.