Day 03: Medicinal plants (Vitex negundo)by Asmita Gaire | 07-11-2020 11:54 |
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 Day 3 Medicinal plant: 003 Introduction Simali is a herbal medicinal plants native to tropical Eastern and Southern Africa and Asia. The common name of simali is Chinese Chaste tree. Locally, it is called as Simali. The scientific name Simali is Vitex negundo. It belongs to Lamiaceae family. Leaves are the major part used for medicines. It is used mainly in the treatment cough and cold. Basically, leaves powder is very fruitful for medical purpose. This plant is also called as five leaves chaste tree or horseshoe tree or nisinda. It is an erect shrub or small tree. The bark is reddish brown with leaves digitate, with five lanceolate leaflets, sometimes three. The fruit is succulent drupe, rounded to egg shaped. It is black or purple when ripe. It is used for treating stored garlic against pests and as a cough remedy, mostly in Philippines. It is also taken as a supplemental treatment for COVID 19 patients. It is used in traditional herbal medicine for women's health including treatment for regulating the menstrual cycle and post partum remedies. It has antiseptic, astringent, anti inflammatory and antipyretic properties. It is also very popular plant most frequently visited by need and butterflies. It means honey bee and butterflies play major role in pollination. Apart from this, the nectar from this plant can be used for making honey too. In nutshell, simali/Vitex negundo is a plant with medicinal benefits along with beneficial plants for insects like honey bee and butterflies. Image source: https://images.app.goo.gl/1RuEcnTYciRYa3WJ8 |
