Monochoria vaginalis

Monochoria vaginalis

Monochoria vaginalis is a species of flowering plant in the water hyacinth family known by several common names, including heartshape false pickerelweed and oval-leafed pondweed.

Uses

Ayurvedic, Unani, folklore.

Parts Used

Roots, Leaves.

Chemical Composition

Monochoria vaginalis leaf and root extracts were evaluated for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory property. Antioxidant property was estimated using 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiozoline-6-sulfonic acid) disodium salt +, metal ion chelating activity, ferric-reducing antioxidant power, superoxide anion radical scavenging, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl, nitric oxide radical scavenging, phosphomolybdenum and hydrogen peroxide assays.

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada	ನೀಲೋತ್ಪಲ neelotpala
Hindi	ननका nanka, पानपत्ता paanpatta
Malayalam	കാക്കപ്പോള kakkappola, കരിങ്കൂവളം karinkuvalam, കുളച്ചേമ്പ് kulachempu, കുവലയം kuvalayam
Tamil	கருங்குவளை karu-n-kuvalai
Telugu	నీరు కాచ neerukaacha, నీరుకాంచ nirokancha
Marathi	NA
Gujarathi	NA
Punjabi	NA
Kashmiri	NA
Sanskrit	इन्दिवर indivara
English	Oval Leaf Pondweed, Oval Leaf Monochoria, Marshy betelvine

Properties

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

Habit

Herbs

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature
Simple, heart-shaped or rounded, shiny, deep green in color	ovate-oblong to broadly ovate	Leaves variable - 2-12.5 cm long, 0.5-10 cm wide, in very young plants without lamina; leaves of somewhat older plants with a floating linear or lanceolate blade; leaves of still older plants

Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
Bisexual		Petals six, violet or lilac blue		spreading at flowering, afterwards spirally contorted. As is typical of many aquatic annuals, plant size, leaf shape, and flower number are highly variable in relation to the amount of water. August-March

Mode of Propagation

Seeds.

How to plant/cultivate

A plant of the moist tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,500 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 35°c, but can tolerate 13 - 38°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,200 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 700 - 4,000mm.

Commonly seen growing in areas

Lowland forest.

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External Links

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