Balanophora Fungosa

Balanophora fungosa is a fleshy, leafless herb that is total parasitic on the roots or rhizomes of various host species. A perennial plant growing from a tuberous rootstock, it grows up to 15cm tall. The roots of at least one form of this plant are harvested locally for their wax, which is used for lighting purposes.

Uses

Wound, Piles

Parts Used

Root, Whole plant

Chemical Composition

It contains phenolic compounds Isolariciresinol, Gallic acid, Pinoresinol, Methyl caffeate, and Epipinoresinol, Glucopyranoside were isolated from Balanophora fungosa.

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada	Markata Pippali, Gaja Pippali
Hindi	Gaja Pippali
Malayalam
Tamil	Ati Tippali
Telugu	Veerchedi
Marathi
Gujarathi
Punjabi
Kashmiri
Sanskrit	Gaja Pippali, Markata Pippali
English	Fungus Root

Properties

Reference: Dravya - Substance, Rasa - Taste, Guna - Qualities, Veerya - Potency, Vipaka - Post-digesion effect, Karma - Pharmacological activity, Prabhava - Therepeutics.

Habit

Perennial

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature

Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
			Flowering from September to January	{{{5}}}

Fruit

Type	Size	Mass	Appearance	Seeds	More information
					Fruiting from September to January

Mode of Propagation

Seeds

Commonly seen growing in areas

Evergreen rainforests.

Photo Gallery

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External Links

• Balanophora Fungosa on NCBI Resources
• Balanophora Fungosa on James Books University
• Botanical Society of America