Medicago sativa - Ashvabala

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Ashvabala,Alfalfa

Ashvabala, Alfalfa, Medicago sativa(bitanical name), Safed Musli or Rajko (Hindi), Kudirai masal or Kollu (Tamil) also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world.In ancient India, Ayurvedic texts prescribe the use of Alfalfa seeds and sprouts for improving blood cell production and it's leaves and stem as a good source of protein and minerals.Alfalfa is widely grown throughout the world as forage for cattle, and is most often harvested as hay, but can also be made into silage, grazed, or fed as greenchop.

Uses

relieve water retention, arthritis, ulcers, purifying the blood, food digestion, assimilation, kidney problems.

Parts Used

Root tubers.

Chemical Composition

Atisine, Aconitine, Atisenol, Atidine, Hetisine, Hetisinone, Banzolheteratisine, Histidine, F-dihydroatisine, Heteratisine and Several diterpene alkaloids such aheterophyllin, heterophyllisin, heterophyllidine, and hetidine.

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada	lusarne soppu, vilaayiti hullu
Hindi	lusan ghas
Malayalam
Tamil	kutirai macal
Telugu
Marathi	NA
Gujarathi	NA
Punjabi	NA
Kashmiri	NA
Sanskrit	ashvabala
English	Alfalfa, bastard medic

Habit

Herb

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature
glabrous	sessile	The leaves are variable in shape and size

.

Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
Unisexual	2-4cm long	white–violet	10-18	Flowers are Large, hooded and occur in slender racemes or lax leafy panicles. Corolla is hairy. Carpels are five in number

Fruit

Type	Size	Mass	Appearance	Seeds	More information
	7–10 mm (0.28–0.4 in.) long pome		s		{{{6}}}

List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used

• Vishatinduka Taila as root juice extract

Mode of Propagation

Seeds, Tuber segment.

How to plant/cultivate

The more common species of Aconitum are generally those cultivated in gardens, especially hybrids. They typically thrive in well-drained evenly moist garden soils like the related hellebores and delphiniums, and can grow in the shade of trees.

Commonly seen growing in areas

western Himalayas, open woodland, moisty soil area.

Photo Gallery

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  Trailing white monkshood (A. reclinatum)

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  Southern blue monkshood (A. uncinatum)

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  Wild Alaskan monkshood (A. delphinifolium) is a flowering species that belongs to the family Ranunculaceae.