Scientific Name
Bistorta amplexicaulis (D. Done) Green
Synonyms
Family
Polygonaceae
Local Name
Masloon
Habit Habitat
A slender, erect perennial herb with woody base and stout rhizome, up to 70cm tall, found in temperate, sub-alpine and alpine zones.
Taxonomic Features
Leaves simple, ovate-lanceolate with cordate base, sheathing, entire and acuminate. Lower leaf long stalked, blade minutely toothed. Inflorescence terminal spike, dense, 5-10 cm long, usually solitary, sometimes branched. Flower, pink, red or white, 3-6mm long. Tepal lanceolate to ovate, entire. Fruit a nut, dark-brown to black, shining.
Flowering Fruiting
June-September
Harvesting Time
September-December
Medicinal Value
Locally used as a tea and tonic, useful in dysentery, rheumatism, backache, ulcer, bleeding gums, diarrhea. Dried rhizome is used for making tea. The decoction (10ml) of rhizome is taken thrice a day for treatment of rheumatic pains, backache, fever and flu.
Parts Used
Rhizome
Future Prospective
Conservation, Collection, Cultivation, Drying, Packing, Herbal Pharmacy, Allopathic Pharmacy.
Plant Images
Bistorta amplexicaulis (D. Done) Green