Hygrophila auriculata (Schumach) Heine

Hygrophila auriculata (Schumach) Heine

Family: Acanthaceae
Common Names: Swamp weeds, Marsh barbel
Vernacular Names: Talimakhana (Hindi), Kokilaksah (Sanskrit) Neerumulli (Tamil), Vayalchulli (Malayalam)

Plant Description
Hygrophila auriculata is a spiny herbaceous shrub that grows in marshes and on the edges of water bodies
Habit: Herb
Height: 1-2 m
Leaves: Six at a node, oblong, lanceolate, base narrow, sessile, hairy, the outer leaves of the whorl larger than others, each one with a yellow straight spine in its axil
Flowers: 4-pairs at each node, purplish-blue, tube swollen, lips subequal, Stamens 4, didynamous, Ovary 2-celled, ovules 4 in each cell, style hairy, stigma acuminate
Stem: Straight, quadrangular, unbranched or sparsely branched, reddish-brown, covered in fine whitish hairs, swollen and thickened at the nodes
Fruit: Capsule oblong, seeds 4-8, with hygroscopical white hairs.

Beneficial Properties
Medicial Properties

 Hygrophila auriculata is a widely used plant in traditional medicine, almost the entire plant is used.
 It is packed with essential minerals recommended for people suffering from anemia.
 The roots secrete an aqueous substance that is used in different treatments for liver ailments, liver damage and jaundice.
 Boiled leaves are used to fight fever, by steaming and bathing in the boiled water.
 Burnt and smoked leaves and stems are used to heal eye ulcers.
 Leaves, stems, and flowers are boiled and drunk as a tea for stomachache.
 Additionally, it is also used as an aphrodisiac, renal tonic, and a remedy for kidney stones.
 H. auriculata is also used in medication to treat cancer and has antifungal properties.

Other uses
 In South Africa, H. auriculata was widely used by BaPedi people as a vegetable and is still eaten as a vegetable by the Bangladeshis and in parts of Africa.
 It can also be used to make a vegetable salt.