Scientific Name
Mirabilis jalapa L.
Synonyms
Family
Nyctaginaceae
Local Name
Alta
Habit Habitat
A perennial herb up to 1.5 m tall, has been naturalized near waste places of sub-tropical zone.
Taxonomic Features
Stem leafy, reddish, swollen at nodes. Leaves simple, ovate, acuminate and entire. Inflorescence axillary cymes or solitary. Flower funnel shaped, actinomorphic, showy, many coloured but mostly pinkish, sometime yellow or white, surrounded by involucre of 5 bracts, limb 5-lobed. Perianth tube 20-30mm long. Fruit a nut, ovoid, 8-9mm long, black, ribbed.
Flowering Fruiting
July-December
Harvesting Time
August-December
Medicinal Value
It has antifungal, purgative and anti-inflammatory properties.2 Useful in diabetes, leucorrhoea, kidney problems. Locally powder of flowers is used in piles and decoction of root is useful in impotency and rheumatism.
Parts Used
Rhizome, leaf
Future Prospective
Conservation, collection, cultivation, drying, packing, herbal pharmacy, allopathic pharmacy.
Plant Images
Mirabilis jalapa L.