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Ouret lanata

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Ouret lanata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Ouret
Species:
O. lanata
Binomial name
Ouret lanata
(L.) Kuntze (1891)
Synonyms[1]
Synonymy
  • Achyranthes lanata L. (1753)
  • Achyranthes lanata Roxb. (1824), nom. illeg.
  • Achyranthes pubescens (Willd.) Roth (1819)
  • Achyranthes villosa Forssk. (1775)
  • Aerva arachnoidea Gand. (1922)
  • Aerva elegans Moq. (1849)
  • Aerva floribunda Wight (1852)
  • Aerva lanata (L.) Juss. ex Schult. (1819)
  • Aerva lanata var. citrina Suess. (1950)
  • Aerva lanata var. elegans Suess. (1950)
  • Aerva lanata var. floribunda Moq. (1849)
  • Aerva lanata f. grandifolia Suess. (1950)
  • Aerva lanata var. leucuroides Suess. (1951), nom. illeg.
  • Aerva lanata f. microphylla Suess. (1950)
  • Aerva lanata var. microstachys Moq. (1849)
  • Aerva lanata var. orbicularis Suess. (1950)
  • Aerva lanata var. pseudojavanica Suess. (1950)
  • Aerva lanata var. rhombea Suess. (1953)
  • Aerva lanata var. robusta Balf.f. (1884)
  • Aerva lanata var. rotundifolia Moq. (1849)
  • Aerva lanata f. squarrosa Suess. (1950)
  • Aerva lanata var. steudneri Asch. (1867)
  • Aerva lanata var. suborbicularis Suess. (1950)
  • Aerva lanata var. viridis Moq. (1849)
  • Aerva mozambicensis Gand. (1919)
  • Aerva pubescens Mart. (1825)
  • Aerva sansibarica Suess. (1949 publ. 1950)
  • Aerva tandalo Buch.-Ham. ex Dill. (1839)
  • Aerva viridis E.Mey. ex Moq. (1849), pro syn.
  • Alternanthera pubescens Moq. (1849)
  • Amaranthus aeruoides Hochst. & Steud. ex A.Rich. (1850)
  • Amaranthus lanatus Dum.Cours. (1802)
  • Illecebrum lanatum (L.) L. (1771)
  • Illecebrum pubescens Willd. (1809)
  • Ouret persica var. pubescens (Mart.) Kuntze (1891)
  • Paronychia lanata (L.) Moench in Suppl. Meth.: 112 (1802)
in Bhuvanagiri, Andhra Pradesh

Ouret lanata (synonym Aerva lanata), the mountain knotgrass,[2] is a woody, prostrate or succulent, perennial herb in the family Amaranthaceae, native to the tropics of Africa and Asia. It has been included as occurring in Australia by the US government,[3] but it is not recognised as occurring in Australia by any Australian state herbarium or Plants of the World Online.[4][1] The plant sometimes flowers in the first year.[5][6]

Ouret lanata is a common weed which grows wild everywhere in the plains of India. The root has a camphor-like aroma. The dried flowers which look like soft spikes, are sold under the commercial names Buikallan and Boor. It is one of the plants included in Dasapushpam, the ten sacred flowers of Kerala.

Description

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Ouret lanata From Kerala.

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 in (2.5 mm) long, pink, green or dull white. The flowers are normally self-pollinated. Flowering time is from May to October.[7][unreliable source?]

Distribution and habitat

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in Thrissur, Kerala

Ouret lanata is native to tropical Africa, Madagascar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the Indian subcontinent, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, the Philippines, and New Guinea.[1] The species prefers damper sites than Aerva javanica and can be found in open forests on mountain slopes, on waste and disturbed ground, deserted cultivation and coastal scrub[5] and at elevations from sea level to 900 m (3,000 ft).[8] It is a common weed in arable fields and bare patches of ground.

Uses

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This plant is used for food for people and animals. The whole plant, especially the leaves, is edible. The leaves are put into soup or eaten as a spinach or as a vegetable. The plant provides grazing for stock, game and chickens. The plant is used as a traditional medicine for snakebites.[7][unreliable source?]

Though the plant has a lot of medicinal properties it is quite commonly used in South India during the Tamil festival "Pongal" and Telugu harvest festival "Sankranti" as the flower of this plant is used for decoration. In Telugu language it is also called as "Pindi kommalu" and in Tamil language it is also called as Ponga-Poo, which is derived from the names Pongal – A Harvest festival of Tamil Nadu and Poo in Tamil means Flower. Other common Tamil names used for this plant are "Kannu Pillai Poo" and "Siru Poolai".[1]

The plant is also used as a talisman against evil spirits, a good-luck talisman for hunters, and a talisman for the well-being of widows.[6]

In the traditional medicine of India, the juice of crushed Ouret lanata root is used for jaundice therapy.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Ouret lanata (L.) Kuntze. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Aerva lanata". EPPO Global Database. European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  3. ^ "Aerva lanata". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  4. ^ "Search: SPECIES: Aerva lanata". The Australasian Virtual Herbarium. Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  5. ^ a b Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. "Amaranthaceae by C. C. Townsend". Flora Zambesiaca. 9 (part:1). Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  6. ^ a b "Aerva lanata (Linn.) Juss. [family AMARANTHACEAE]". Global Plants. JSTOR. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
  7. ^ a b "Aerva lanata". Medicinal Plants Used For Snake Treatment. ToxicologyCentre.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  8. ^ Robert Freedman (20 January 1998). "Famine Foods - AMARANTACEAE". Purdue University. Archived from the original on 6 April 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  9. ^ Tewari D, Mocan A, Parvanov ED, Sah AN, Nabavi SM, Huminiecki L, Ma ZF, Lee YY, Horbańczuk JO, Atanasov AG. Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Therapy of Jaundice: Part I. Front Pharmacol. 2017 Aug 15;8:518. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00518.
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