2014

Botanical name: Cleome gynandra

English name: African cabbage
Vernacular name: Vaminta or vayinta
Family: Cleomaceae

Standing at 1.5 m tall, Cleome gynandra is a dicot annual plant that can
be broken down into a stem, leaves, flowers, and fruit. Attached to the stem are
3-5 leaves, each containing 3-7 leaflets. These leaves narrow towards the base.
The flowers of Cleome gynandra are approximately 1-2.5 cm in diameter
containing 4 sepals, 4 petals, and 6 stamens with long purple filaments. The
petals are of a white colour, sometimes fading to pink depending on the amount
of sunlight available. The plants fruit measure to be is 12 cm long and 8-10 mm
wide. Within the fruits capsules are dicot seeds. These seeds are surrounded by
a brown casing and are small in diameter, measuring between 1-1.5 mm. Cleome
gynandra belongs to the taxonomic family, Capparidaceae, which consists of
700-800 species globally, and of them, Cleome Gynandra has 50 species that are
believed to be in Africa alone.

Cleome gynandra

Botanical name: Croton bonplandianum

English name: Ban Tulsi
Vernacular name: Rail poondu
Family: Euphorbiaceae

Normally Crotons are popular foliage plants. This is a wild species of

croton. Due to the resemblance of the leaves and flower cymes to that of Tulsi,
this plant is often called Ban Tulsi (jungle tulsi) It is a small annual herb, growing
up to 1-2 ft. tall. Alternately arranged leaves, 3-5 cm long, are lance-shaped, with
a toothed margin. Small white flowers are borne in 3-8 cm long racemes at the
end of branches. Flowers have 5 sepals and 5 petals and numerous long stamens
protruding out. Fruit is a 5 mm oblong capsule, with a warty surface. Ban tulshi is
grown abundantly in the rural areas of Malda, West Bengal, and is used as both a
fuel and a detergent. First the stems and branches of ban tulshi are used as fuel.
Then the ash is collected and kept in a bottle for five or six days. The ash is put
in warm water and used as a detergent for cleaning cotton garments. Flowering:
September-November.

Croton bonplandianum

Botanical name: Heliotropium curassavicum

English name: "Monkey Tail Tree"
Vernacular name: kpkai
Family name: Boraginaceae

This is a perennial herb which can take the form of a prostrate creeper
along the ground to a somewhat erect shrub approaching 0.5 m (1.6 ft.) in
height. The stem and foliage are fleshy, with the leaves thick and oval or spadeshaped. The plentiful inflorescences are curled, coiling double rows of small bellshaped flowers. Each flower is white with five rounded lobes and a purple or
yellow throat. The fruit is a smooth nutlet.

Heliotropium curassavicum

Botanical name: Aerva lanata

English name: Polpala
Vernacular name: Pindi-kura, Pindi-chettu
Family: Amaranthaceae

Mountain knotgrass is an annual with a branching, somewhat woody root

system. The stems are mostly straggling and sprawling and spread widely,
sometimes as much as 6 feet (1.8 m) in length. The often stalkless leaves are
alternate, oval and 0.5 to 1.5 in (13 to 38 mm) long. They grow from whitish
papery stipules with two lobes and red bases. The tiny clusters of two or three
flowers grow in the leaf axils. The flowers are about 0.1 inches (2.5 mm) long,
pink, green or dull white. The flowers are normally self-pollinated. Flowering time
is from May to October.

Aerva lanata

Botanical name: Amaranthus viridis

English name: Chinese Spinach, Bledo, Green Amaranth
Vernacular name :Calalu
Family: Amaranthaceae

Leaves - cooked as a spinach. A mild flavour. The leafy stems and flower
clusters are similarly used. On a zero moisture basis, 100g of leaves contains 283
calories, 34.2g protein, 5.3g fat, 44.1g carbohydrate, 6.6g fibre, 16.4g ash,
2243mg calcium, 500mg phosphorus, 27mg iron, 336mg sodium, 2910mg
potassium, 50mg vitamin A, 0.07mg thiamine, 2.43mg riboflavin, 11.8mg niacin
and 790mg ascorbic acid]. Seed - cooked. Very small, about 1mm in diameter,
but it is easy to harvest and very nutritious. The seed can be cooked whole, and
becomes very gelatinous like this, but it is rather difficult to crush all of the small
seeds in the mouth and thus some of the seed will pass right through the
digestive system without being assimilated. The seed contains 14 - 16% protein
and 4.7 - 7% fat.
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Amaranthus viridis

Botanical name: Ocimum tenuiflorum

English name: Holy basil
Vernacular name: Tulas
Family: Lamiaceae

It is an erect, much branched subshrub, 3060 cm tall with hairy stems

and simple opposite green or purple leaves that are strongly scented. Leaves
have petioles and are ovate, up to 5 cm long, usually slightly toothed. The
flowers are purplish in elongate racemes in close whorls. The two main
morphotypes cultivated in India and Nepal are green-leaved (Sri or Lakshmi
tulasi) and purple-leaved (Krishna tulasi).

Ocimum tenuiflorum

Botanical name: Phyllanthus niruri

English name: Stonebreaker
Vernacular name: Nela Usir
Fsmily: Phyllanthaceae.

It grows 50 to 70 centimeters tall and bears ascending herbaceous

branches. The bark is smooth and light green. It bears numerous pale green
flowers which are often flushed with red. The fruits are tiny, smooth capsules
containing seeds. an annual, herb; height varies between 3060 cm. Stem is
angular with numerous distichous, elliptic-oblong leaves. Flowers are yellow and
very numerous; monoecious with 13 staminate flowers and solitary pistillate
flower borne axillary. Fruits capsule, very small, globose, smooth, seeds 3gonous, longitudinally ribbed on the back. Seed to seed cycle occurs in two or
four weeks. The flowering time in Indian conditions is July to August. Keys for
identification of different species of Phyllanthus are found in Caius

Phyllanthusniruri

Botanical name: Euphorbia hirta

English name: Pill-bearing spurge, asthma plant, hairy spurge, garden spurge,
pillpod sandman
Vernacular name: Eddivarinanabalu, reddinananbrolu
Family name: Euphorbiaceae

This erect or prostrate annual herb can get up to 60 cm long with a solid,
hairy stem that produced an abundant white latex. There are stipules present.
The leaves are simple, elliptical, hairy (on both upper and lower surfaces but
particularly on the veins on the lower leaf surface), with a finely dentate margin.
Leaves occur in opposite pairs on the stem. The flowers are unisexual and found
in axillary cymes at each leaf node. They lack petals and are generally on a stalk.
The fruit is a capsules with three valves and produces tiny, oblong, four-sided red
seeds. It has a white or brown taproot.

Euphorbia hirta

Botanical name: Andrographis paniculata

English name: Green chirayta, creat, king of bitters, andrographis, India
echinacea
Vernacular name: Nelavemaa
Family: Acanthaceae

Andrographispaniculata grows erect to a height of 30110 cm in moist,

shady places. The slender stem is dark green, squared in cross-section with
longitudinal furrows and wings along the angles. The lance-shaped leaves have
hairless blades measuring up to 8 centimeters long by 2.5 wide. The small
flowers are borne in spreading racemes. The fruit is a capsule around 2
centimeters long and a few millimeters wide. It contains many yellow-brown
seeds.

Andrographis paniculata

Botanical name: Acalypha indica

English name: Indian acalypha, Indian nettle,
Vernacular name: Nelavemu
Family:

Euphorbiaceae

Annual herbs, to 60 cm tall; stem striate, pubescent. Leaves 1.2-6.5 x 13.8 cm, broadly ovate, base rounded to shortly attenuate, margin crenateserrate, apex acute or obtuse, basally 5-nerved; petiole 1.5-5.5 cm long. Spikes
axillary, 2.5-6.2 cm long, monoecious, rachis ending in a triradiate hood at the
tip.Male flowers above, ebracteate, minute, clustered; anthers vermiculiform.
Female flowers below subtended by foliaceous, 3-7 mm long, suborbicularcuneiform, many-nerved, toothed bracts; ovary hispid, 3-lobed; styles 3, each 2fid. Capsules 3-valved, concealed by bract, hispid.

Acalypha indica

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Botanical name: Sida acuta

English name: Horn bean leaved sida
Vernacular name: Muttavapulagamu
Family: Malvaceae

Terrestrial, perennial, erect shrub, up to 150 cm tall.Taproots white or

brown. Stems rounded, solid, glabrous or stellate-hairy. Stipules present,
triangular, triangular, glabrous. Leaves simple, not lobed or divided, alternate
spiral, linear to lanceolate, stalked, more than 2 cm long/wide, margin coarsely
dentate, apex acute, base acute or rounded, (stellately) hairy, pinnately veined.
Flowers bisexual, solitary or sometimes in crowded heads, axillary, petals 5,
yellow to orange. Fruit a capsule, splitting into 810 nutlets (mericarps).

Sida acuta

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Botanical name: Trida xprocumbens

English name: Coat buttons
Vernacular name: GaddiChemanthi
Family:

Asteraceae

The plant bears daisylike yellow-centered white or yellow flowers with

three-toothed ray florets. The leaves are toothed and generally arrowheadshaped. Its fruit is a hard achene covered with stiff hairs and having a feathery,
plumelike white pappus at one end. Calyx is represented by scales or reduced to
pappus. The plant is invasive in part because it produces so many of these
achenes, up to 1500 per plant, and each achene can catch the wind in its pappus
and be carried some distance. This weed can be found in fields, meadows,
croplands, disturbed areas, lawns, and roadsides in areas with tropical or semitropical climates

Tridax procumbens

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Botanical name: Boerhavia diffusa

English name: Hog weed, Horse Purslane
Vernacular name: Atakamamidi, Punar-nava
Family: Nyctaginaceae

Herbs with long trailing branches; stem reddish, tomentose. Leaves

unequal, ovate, obtuse, undulate along margins, truncate to subcordate at base,
tomentose; petiole to 1 cm long. Flowers 4 mm long, 4-10 together, in axillary or
terminal, peduncled umbels; bracts 5, ovate, glandular, perianth pink, stamens
3, capsule 3 x 1 mm, clavate, 5-ribbed, glandular.

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Boerhavia diffusa

Botanical name: Crotalaria verrucosa

English name: BlueflowerRattlepod; Rattlepod, Blueflowe
Vernacular name: Ghelegherinta
Family:

Fabaceae

Herbs, erect, 50-100 cm tall. Branches 4-angled, glabrescent. Stipules

leaflike, ovate-falcate, 5-8 mm. Leaves simple; petiole 3-5 mm; leaf blade ovate
to elliptic, 10-15 3-5 cm, thinly membranous, abaxially densely pubescent,
adaxiallyglabrous, base broadly cuneate, apex acuminate. Racemes terminal, 1020-flowered; bracts linear, ca. 1 mm. Pedicel 3-4 mm; bracteoles inserted
apically from middle of pedicel. Calyx subcampanulate, 8-10 mm, 5-lobed; lobes
lanceolate, slightly longer than tube. Corolla pale yellow, white, or often tinged
blue; standard orbicular to obovate, 1-1.8 cm, base with 2 appendages; wings
oblong, 1-1.6 cm; keel as long as wings, exserted beyond calyx, rounded with
an incurved, fairly shortly twisted beak. Ovary subsessile, pilose on apical
part.Legume oblong, 2-4 cm, 10-12-seeded, pubescent. Seeds nearly smooth to
papillose, shiny

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Crotalaria verrucosa

Botanical name: Ipomoea sepiaria

English name: Ipomoea, Purple Heart Glory
Vernacular name: Toinuatali
Family: Convolvulaceae

Purple Heart Glory is a slender vine, 3-5 m long, commonly seen on

bushes. Alternately arranged ovate-heart-shaped leaves have purple botches in
the centre. Upper leaves are sometimes sagittate or hastate, 2-6 X 2-5 cm,
smooth, base deeply heart-shaped or arrow-shaped, margin entire or minutely
wavy. White to pink-purple funnel shaped flowers occur in stalked cymes. Flowers
are 2.5-4 cm long, with a narrow tube flaring open into a flat flower and have a
dark purple throat. Stamens do not protrude out. Flowers open after sunrise and
close before noon. The plant is found on sea coasts and on saline soil.The root of
Purple Heart Glory is used to cure the swelling in the whole body due to viper
bite.

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Ipomoea sepiaria

Botanical name: Momordica charantia

English name: Bitter melon, bitter gourd or bitter squash
Vernacular name: kakarakaya
Family name:Cucurbitaceae
This herbaceous, tendril-bearing vine grows to 5 m. It bears simple,
alternate leaves 412 cm across, with three to seven deeply separated lobes.
Each plant bears separate yellow male and female flowers. In the Northern
Hemisphere, flowering occurs during June to July and fruiting during September
to November.
The fruit has a distinct warty exterior and an oblong shape. It is hollow in crosssection, with a relatively thin layer of flesh surrounding a central seed cavity
filled with large, flat seeds and pith. The fruit is most often eaten green, or as it is
beginning to turn yellow. At this stage, the fruit's flesh is crunchy and watery in
texture, similar to cucumber, chayote or green bell pepper, but bitter. The skin is

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tender and edible. Seeds and pith appear white in unripe fruits; they are not
intensely bitter and can be removed before cooking.
As the fruit ripens, the flesh (rind) becomes tougher, more bitter, and too
distasteful to eat. On the other hand, the pith becomes sweet and intensely red;
it can be eaten uncooked in this state, and is a popular ingredient in some
Southeast Asian salads.
When the fruit is fully ripe, it turns orange and mushy, and splits into segments
which curl back dramatically to expose seeds covered in bright red pulp.

Momordica charantia
Botanical name: Vernonia cinerea
English name: Blue Fleabane, Inflammation Bush; Strongman-Bush, Tropical
Fleabane
Vernacular name: Sahadevi
Family name: Asteraceae
Vernoniacinerea is a member of the Asteraceae family. It is an erect,
slender, rarely branching annual herb that grows up to 3 cm tall. The stems are
ribbed, finely pilose and glandular. The leaves are alternate, lower ones being
perioled while the upper ones are reduced and sessile, oval or broadest about or
above the middle and tapering to each end, shallowly toothed. They measure
between 2-6 cm long; more or less densely and finely hairy. The heads are small,
pedunculed, in open, loose corymbs, about 7 mm long, and 2.5 mm in diameter.
The flowers are all tubular, rahterbrigh purple, pink, or white, about 20 in each
head, twice as long as the involucral bracts. The pappus bristles while, dentate,

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measuring 3-5 mm long. The achenes are rounded, nearly ribless and measure
about 1.5 mm long.

Vernonia cinerea

Botanical name :Parthenium hysterophorus

English name: Carrot Grass, Congress Grass, Santa maria fever few, Congree
Grass
Vernacular name: Nalla puli
Family: Asteraceae
Carrot Grass is native to the subtropics of North and South America. It is a
fast-maturing annual (or, under certain conditions, a short-lived perennial) with a
deep tap root and an erect stem that becomes woody with age. It may
eventually reach a height of 2 m. Its leaves are pale green, branched and
covered with soft fine hairs. The small white flowers (4 mm across) have five

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distinct corners and grow on the stem tips. Each flower produces 4-5 black
wedgeshaped seeds that are 2 mm long with thin white scales. It is considered a
highly invasive weed. Its large and persistent soil seedbank, fast germination
rate and ability to undergo dormancy make it well adapted to semi-arid
environments. It also releases chemicals that inhibit the germination and growth
of pasture grasses and other plants.

Parthenium hysterophorus
Botanical name: Digeramuricata
English name: False Amaranth
Vernacular name: Chenchalikoora
Family: Amaranthaceae
Annual herb, growing to 20-70 cm tall. It can be seen growing wild in
waste areas. Stems are simple or branched from the base, nearly hairless.
Alternately arranged leaves, 1-9 cm long and 0.2-5 cm broad, are narrowly linear
to broadly ovate. Leaf stalks are long, up to 5 cm, base is narrowed, and the tip
pointed. Flowers are borne on slender spike-like racemes, which can be as large

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as 30 cm long. The racemes are on a stalk that can be up to 14 cm long. Flowers

are hairless, white mixed with pink to carmine or red, usually becoming greenishwhite in fruit. Fruit subglobose, slightly compressed, 2-2.5 mm, bluntly ribbed
along each side, surmounted by a thick rim. In India, the young leaves and
shoots of False Amaranth are made into curries, or the entire plant is boiled and
seasoned. Flowering: August-September.

Digera muricata

Botanical name: Cassia occidentalis

English name: Mogdad coffee, negro-coffee, senna coffee, Stephanie coffee
Vernacular name: Thangedu
Family: Malvaceae

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An erect, foetid, annual herb or under shrub, 60-150 cms.in height found
throughout in India upto an altitude of 1500 m. Leaves, 15-20 cms. long,
lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, leaflets 3 pairs, membranous, glaucous, ovate or
lanceolate (Plate 5.1 II d); flowers yellow, in short racemes(Plate 5.1 I); pods
recurved, glabrous, compressed 10-13 cms X 0.8 cm.(Plate 5.1 II a); seeds dark
olive green, ovoid, compressed 6 mm. X 4 mm.(Plate 5.1 II b), hard and smooth.

Cassia occidentalis

Botanical name: Abutilon indicum

English name: Indian Mallow
Vernacular name: Atibala
Family: Malvaceae
Erect velvety-pubescent shrub with circular-ovate or heart-shaped leaves
with coarsely crenate-serrate margins. The plant can reach up to 1-2 m. The
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leaves are alternately arranged, and have long stalks and have velvety, soft, pale
hairs on them. Orange-yellow flowers, 2-3 cm across, occur solitary in axils, on
long stalks, 4-7 cm. Orange-yellow petals are triangular-obovate, 1 cm long or
slightly more, staminal-tube hairy with stellate hairs. Fruit is quite interesting - it
is circular in shape, consisting of 11-20 radiating hairy carpels, brown when dry;
each carpel flattened, somewhat boatshaped. Seeds are kidney-shaped. The
plant is a weed commonly found on disturbed land. Flowering: September-April.

Abutilon indicum

Botanical name: Coccinia indica

English name: Scarlet-fruited gourd, tindora, kovai fruit
Vernacular name : Bimbikaya
Family: Cucurbitaceae

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It is an annual creeper which is found spreading on ground and twilling

around the trees and supports around it. The stem is pentagonal in shape.
Leaves are triangular or pentagonal in shape; it is dentate and has a length of 2
to 5 inch and breath of 2 inch. Flowers are monocieus and are bid in size. They
are placed in bunches having about 2 to 4 flowers. These are of white color. Fruit
id slimy in touch, pulpy and is barrel shaped. It is 1 to 2 inch in length. it is green
in color when it is raw form which turns to scarlet red color when it ripes. It also
possesses about ten white stripes on its posterior portion. This fruit posses
numerous seeds inside. Its roots are long and resemble tuberous roots.

Coccinia indica

Botanical name: Euphorbia thymifolia

English name: Asthma plant, Pill-bearing Spurge. Thyme-leaf spurge, Chicken
weed
Vernacular name: Vana paala
Family name: Euphorbiaceae

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It is a monocious, prostate, annual herb with branches up to 25 cm long,

with numerous adventitious roots. The stems are with white latex. The leaves are
opposite, distichous, simple; blade ovate, measures up to 8 mm x 4 mm; stipules
linear 1 mm long, deeply 2-3 toothed. The base unequal, one side cuneate the
other side rounded, apex rounded, margins shallowly toothed, glabrous above
and sparsely long-hairy beneath. The petioles are 0.5mm long. Inflorescence is in
the form of terminal or axillary cluster of flowers called a cyathium, on short
leafy shoots; cyathia almost sessile, measures 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm, with a funnelshaped involucre, lobes triangular, minute, margin hairy, glands 4, minute,
almost circular, red with very small red appendages, each involucre containing 1
female flower surrounded by few male flowers. The flowers are unisexual; male
flowers sessile, bracteoles hair-like, perianth absent, stamen 1 mm long; female
flowers almost sessile, perianth a rim, ovary superior, glabrous, 3-celled, styles 3,
minute, 2-fid. The fruit an acutely 3-lobed, almost sessile capsule 1mm x 1mm
base truncate, short-hairy. 3 seeded. The seeds are conical, measure 0.5mm in
diameter, acutely 4-angled, shallowly transversely wrinkled, reddish brown
without caruncle.

Euphorbia thymifolia

Botanical name: Justicia americana

English name: American Water-Willow
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Family: Acanthaceae
The plant grows partially submerged in still or flowing water, reaching up
to 40 cm (1 ft. 4 in.) tall from a creeping rhizome. The leaves are 10 cm (4 in.),
opposite, sessile, linear or lanceolate, and slightly crenulated. The flowers are
bicolored, born in opposite arrangement on spikes 3 cm (1 in.) long coming off a
peduncle 10 cm (4 in.) long. Color ranges from white to pale lavender with the
upper corolla lip pale violet or white, arching over the lower lip mottled in dark
purple. The lateral lobes are unadorned or slightly blushed. The anthers are
purplish-red rather than the usual yellow. Flowering is from May to October. The
fruit of this plant is a small brown capsule.

Justicia americana

Botanical name: Tribulus terrestris

English name: Cat's head

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Vernacular name: Burragokharu

Family: Zygophyllaceae
Tribulusterrestris is a taprooted herbaceous perennial plant that grows as a
summer annual in colder climates. The stems radiate from the crown to a
diameter of about 10 cm to over 1 m, often branching. They are usually
prostrate, forming flat patches, though they may grow more upwards in shade or
among taller plants. The leaves are pinnately compound with leaflets less than 6
mm (a quarter-inch) long. The flowers are 410 mm wide, with five lemon-yellow
petals. A week after each flower blooms, it is followed by a fruit that easily falls
apart into four or five single-seeded nutlets. The nutlets or "seeds" are hard and
bear two to three sharp spines, 10 mm long and 46 mm broad point-to-point.
These nutlets strikingly resemble goats' or bulls' heads; the "horns" are sharp
enough to puncture bicycle tires and lawn mower tires and to cause painful injury
to bare feet.

Tribulus terrestris

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Botanical name: Ecbolium viridi

English name: Shrimp plant,Turquoise crossandra
Vernacular name: Nakka toka
Family: Acanthaceae

A small shrub with erect branches.Leaves large, 11.5-15 cm, oblong-oval

or lanceolate, tapering to base.Flowers large, sessile, in opposite pairs, spikes
nearly sessile, 5-25 cm long; corolla tube 3.8 cm, slightly dilated and laterally
compressed at throat.with an unusual flower color of aquamarine. It is a rare and
tender perennial with long, pointed, dark green leaves &bracted spikes of
spurred, orchid-like flowers.

Ecbolium viridi

Botanical name: Rhynchosia minima

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English name: least snout-bean, burn-mouth-vine

Vernacular name: Gaddi chekkudu
Family: Fabaceae

This perennial herb has twining or trailing stems which can reach 1.2
meters in length. The leaves are made up of three leaflets measuring up to 3 to
3.5 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a raceme of up to 15 flowers. The
flowers are yellow with purple or brown veining and measure up to 8 millimeters
long. The fruit is one or two centimeters long.

Rhynchosia minima

Botanical name: Sidacordata

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English name: Long-stalk Sida, Heart-Leaf Sida, Country-mallow, flannelweed,

Heartleaf Fanpetals
Vernacular name: Benda, gayapaku
Family: Malvaceae (Mallow family)
Native to India, Heart-Leaf Sida is is a weed that grows wild in wastelands
and along roadsides. They are found throughout the tropical and ub-tropical
plains all over India and Srilanka. The herb grows to 30-80 cm. The plant though
seasonal, is available throughout the year, and is especially luxuriant during the
months of October to December. The leaves, 1-5.5 cm long, are heart shaped,
one at each node. The flowers, 7-8 mm across, are produced at the leaf axils,
and are yellow in colour. The plant can be easily recognized with the above
characteristics, and the entire plant is used in making medicine.

Sida cordata

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Botanical name: Pupalia lappacea

English name: Forest Burr, Creeping Cock's Com
Vernacular name: Errautthareni, thellautthareni, yerrichithramoolam
Family: Amaranthaceae
A perennial herb, erect or prostrate and sprawling, 60-90 cm tall. Branches
and leaves opposite, variously hairy. Leaves variable in shape and size, from
narrowly ovate-elliptic to oblong or orbicular, 2-12 x 1-6 cm, acuminate to
apiculate at the tip, shortly or more longly wedge-shaped at the base, narrowed
to a stalk 2-25 mm long. Flower-spikes are at the end of the stem and branches,
at first dense, elongating to as much as 50 cm in fruit. Inflorescences greyishwhite, in racemes, the clusters alternate and well-spaced.hermaphrodite flowers
mostly in sessile

clusters of

3, upper often solitary; bracteoles of

hermaphrodite flowers broadly cordate-ovate, 2.75-5 mm, conspicuous, sharply

mucronate with the percurrent midrib. Tepals oblong, 3.5-6 mm, glabrous to
pilose dorsally, 3-nerved, the lateral nerves of the 2 outer tepals strong
throughout, joining the shortly excurrent midrib just below the apex. Spines of
modified flowers glabrous except sometimes near the base, yellowish to purple,
3-4 mm; 3-flowered clusters falling together to form a burr up to 2.5 cm in
diameter. Filaments 2-3 mm. Style slender, 1.25 2 mm. The fluffy fruits are balled
and used to filter milk etc.

Pupalia lappacea
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Botanical name: Achyranthes aspera

English name: Prickly chaff flower,devil's horsewhip
vernacular name: Antisha; Apamargamu; Uttaraene
family: Amaranthaceae
Morphology of the androecium, perianth (tepals), and the inflorescence
has traditionally been used to circumscribe genera and tribes. Pseudostaminodia
are

interstaminal

appendages

with

variously

shaped

apices.

Filament

appendages are the lateral appendages of filaments (one on each side) . The
basic structure of the inflorescence is the cyme (branchlets arising from the
bracteole axils, the bracteoles serving as bracts for upper flowers), which can be
reduced to one flower with two bracteoles and a bract. Units of dispersal vary
considerably (capsules opening with lower part persistent, flower and bracteoles
falling together, or cymose partial inflorescences breaking off above bract) and
can be characteristic for genera. Several genera possess long trichomes serving
dispersal at the base of the tepals.[1]

Achyranthes aspera

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Botanical name: Dipteracanthus prostrates

English name: Bell Weed
Vernacular name: Nilavembu
Family: Acanthaceae

Diffuse herbs, rooting at lower nodes; stems villous. Leaves to 6 x 4 cm,

ovate, acute, entire, base acute of obtuse; petiole 2-3 cm long. Flowers axillary,
2 or 3 together; bracts absent; bracteoles foliar, 1.5 x 1 cm, ovate; calyx 5partite, lobes 10 mm long, linear, ciliate; corolla yellow, tube 8 mm long, lobes
subequal, 1 cm long, obovate; stamens 4, didynamous, filaments connate below;
ovary 2-celled, style densely hairy. Capsule 1.5 x 0.6 cm, linear oblong; seeds 5
in each cell, orbicular, compressed, marginate, smooth.

Dipteracanthus prostratus

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Botanical name: Lantana camara

English name: largeleaf lantana, common lantana, kamaraS lantana
Vernacular name: Pulikampa
Family: Verbenaceae,

Common lantana is a rugged evergreen shrub from the tropics. The

species will grow to 6 ft (1.8 m) high and may spread to 8 ft (2.4 m) in width with
some varieties able to clamber vinelike up supports to greater heights with the
help of support. The leaves are 2-5 in (5-12.7 cm) long by 1-2 in (2.5-5 cm) wide
with rounded tooth edges and a textured surface. Stems and leaves are covered
with rough hairs and emit an unpleasant aroma when crushed (smells like cat
pee). The small flowers are held in clusters (called umbels) that are typically 1-2
in (2.5-5.1 cm) across. In the tropics lantana is a non-stop bloomer. Where it is
killed to the ground by frost the lantana blooms in summer and fall. Flower color
ranges from white to yellow, orange to red, pink to rose in unlimited
combinations, in addition the flowers usually change in color as they age. A
lantana may look orange from a distance but the flowerhead is examined at
close range it consists of individual white, yellow and red flowers that blend
when viewed from afar

Lantana camara

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Botanical name: Ludwigia perennis

English name: Creeping Water Primrose, Willow Primrose
Family: Onagraceae

Erect herbs. Leaves 2-6 x 0.5-15 cm, elliptic-lanceolate, base attenuate,

apex acute to acuminate, glabrous.Flowers sessile, 4-merous. Calyx tube adnate
to ovary; lobes 4, c. 2 mm long, ovate acuminate. Petals 4-5 mm long, elliptic,
yellow.Stamens 4; filaments short. Ovary 1-1.5 cm long, linear, 4-celled, 4angled. Ovules many. Capsule 1-2 cm long, linear, subterete, 4-ribbed. Seeds
ellipsoid.

Ludwigia perennis

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Botanical name: Cardiospermum halicacabum

English name: Balloon plant or love in a puf
Vernacular name: Buddakakara
Family: Sapindaceae
Balloon Vine is a woody perennial vine distributed almost globally in the
tropics. It is a fast growing vine up to 10 feet. Leaves are trifoliate, up to 4 inches
long, with highly lobed leaflets. The plant climb with tendrils and needs some
form of support. The small white flowers bloom from summer through fall,
flowers are not very showy. The fruit is more interesting, from which the plant
gets its common name. It is a brown, thin-shelled, inflated angled capsule up to 3
cm across, containing 3 black seeds each, with a white heart-shaped scar.

Cardiospermum halicacabum

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Botanical name: Cleome viscosa

English name: Sticky cleome, Dog mustard, Yellow Spider Flower, Wild mustard
Vernacular name: Svasabarbara
Family: Cleomaceae

Erect profusely branched woody annual herbs. The whole plant viscous
with stalked glandular hairs. Leaves 3-5(-7)-foliolate; leaflets subsessile, 0.6-3.5 x
0.3-2 cm, elliptic-oblong or obovate to spathulate, base cuneate, margins ciliate,
apex obtuse, membranous, glandular pubescent; petiole up to 5 cm long.
Racemes terminal, lax, few-flowered, corymbiform. Flowers 1-1.5 cm across;
pedicels to 1 cm long, elongate during fruiting. Sepals 4, 4-8 x 2-3 mm,
lanceolate, apex acute, glandular hairy without. Petals 4, yellow, 6-12 x 3-5 mm,
obovate to oblong-spathulate, apex rounded. Stamens 12-18; filaments 6-8 mm
long, broadened at tip; anthers linear. Ovary sessile, 5-7 mm long, oblongcylindric, glandular-hairy; stigma cpitate. Capsules 5-6.5 x 0.3-0.5 cm, linearoblong, terete, striate, densely glandular hairy. Seeds many, 1-1.5 mm across,
reniform, transversely ridged.

Cleome viscosa

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