Acanthus ilicifolius - Harikasa

Harikasa, Acanthus ilicifolius

Harikasa, is an erect or reclining shrub growing from 50 - 200cm tall with scarcely branched stems that often produce adventitious aerial roots. The leaves have spiny edges when the plants are growing in an open position, but can be totally spineless when growing in the shade. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and material for making soap.

Uses

Arthritis, Hepatitis, Oedema, Bladder Stones, Heart Diseases

Parts Used

Whole plant

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada	holechulli, mullu chulli, tudechulli
Hindi	harcuch-kanta, hargoza
Malayalam	painaschulli, payinnachulli
Tamil	arrumulli, kaludaimulli, uppukkarinirumulli, paina-schulli
Telugu	alasyakampa, thude chulli
Marathi	NA
Gujarathi	NA
Punjabi	NA
Kashmiri	NA
Sanskrit	harikasa, harikusa
English	Sea Holly

Properties

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

Habit

Shrub

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature
Simple	Opposite	nodes with a pair of spines at the base of the petiole; stilt-roots arising from lower portion of stem. Leaves opposite-decussate, simple, 7-15 x 6-9 cm, variously shaped, elliptic, ovate-oblong, or ovate- lanceolate, narrowed at base, spinous at apex, glabrous, coriaceous, sinuately lobed and spinulose along margins, rarely entire; midrib prominent, lateral veins 4-12 pairs, estipulate; petiole usually 0.5-1 cm and rarely up to 2.5 cm long, terete.

Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
Bisexual	Terminal or pseudo-axillary spikes	Bluish-violet	4	Flowers sessile, 3.5-x 3.5 cm across; bract 0.6-0.8 x 0.5 cm, ovate, acute, margin ciliate; bracteoles 2, conspicuous, partly covered by the bract, lanceolate, persistent. Calyx green, 4-partite, lobes glabrous, 12-15 x 1 mm, shortly connate in two opposite pairs, the outer pair larger. Corolla bluish-violet, 3 cm long with a short tube closed by basal hairs; upper lip obsolete, lower lip broadly 3-lobed to entire, recurved by the middle portion. Stamens 4, attached to the throat of corolla tube, didynamous; filaments 13-16 mm long, stout, curved, more or less flat; anthers aggregated around the style, c. 1.2 cm long, connectives thickly hairy, medifixed, bilobed, one lobe sterile, dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary 2-loculed; ovules 2 in each locule on axile placenta; style c. 2.7 cm long, slender, terete; stigma bifid.

Fruit

Type	Size	Mass	Appearance	Seeds	More information
A capsule	3-3.5 x 1.3-1.6 cm		ellipsoid or ovoid-oblong, glabrous, 3-3.5 x 1.3-1.6 cm, apiculate	seeds 4, compressed, orbicular, 1.3-1.5 x 1- 1.2 cm, supported on short-hooked retinacula.	{{{6}}}

Mode of Propagation

Seeds, Cuttings.

Commonly seen growing in areas

Tropical area, Coastal area

Photo Gallery

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  Leaves

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  Capsules

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  Flower

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  Habit

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  Flowers

External Links

• Acanthus ilicifolius on the ferns.info
• Acanthus ilicifolius on eurek alert.org