Vernonia cinerea (L.) Less.

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
MEDICINAL PLANTS

Vernonia cinerea (L.) Less.

Family: Compositae
Common Name: Ash fleabane, Purple fleabane
Vernacular Names: Sahdebi (Hindi), Sahadevi (Sanskrit), Sirusengalaneer (Tamil), Puvankurunnila (Malayalam)

Plant Description
Habit: Herb
Stem: Erect and thin with more or less vertical branching. It is usually ribbed and bears short fine hairs.
Leaves: simple and alternate, lower leaves are ovate with entire or sub-entire margins, upper leaves are small, linear and irregularly toothed, petioles are short and winged.
Root: woody, branched with fibrous rootlets
Inflorescence: flat-topped panicle with many round, purple or pinkish-blue florets about 3 mm across, clustered together on slender Stalks and usually with numerous involucres.
Flowers: Cymes, funnel shaped few–many flowered, rather dense, Sepals elliptic-oblong to ovate, obtuse to subacute, glabrous. Corolla pink to almost white, sometimes with purple throat
Fruit: Achene about 1.5 mm long with white pappus
Beneficial Properties
Medicinal Properties
• Used to treat a variety of diseases, including malaria, fever, liver diseases, respiratory infections, digestive disorders, and skin conditions
• The juice of the plant is used to treat inflammation, wounds, filariasis and liver function issues
• The juice of the plant is given to children with urinary incontinence.
• The leaves of the plant are used to treat
• A decoction of it is also given in diarrhoea, stomach ache and for cough and colic.
• In Thailand, the plant is used to treat diabetes and muscle pain.
• The young leaves of the plant are used to treat tonsillitis
Other Uses
• The leaves are eaten as a potherb.