Lepidium sativum - Charmahantri

Charmahantri, Garden cress

Charmahantri is also known as Garden cress, mustard and cress, garden pepper cress, pepperwort pepper grass, chandrashura or poor man's pepper. Garden cress is genetically related to watercress and mustard, sharing their peppery, tangy flavor and aroma.

Uses

Astama, Cough, Snakebites, Counter gout, Skin deseases, Diabates, Scurvy, Diarrhea, Blood pressure

Parts Used

Seeds, Roots, Leaves.

Chemical Composition

Atropine sulphate, carbachol (CCh), dicyclomine, isoprenaline, verapamil, and rolipram were purchased from Sigma Chemicals Company, St. Louis, MO, USA. Guinea-pigs (500–550 g) of either sex and local breed were kept at the Animal House of the Aga Khan University, maintained at 23–25°C, and were given standard diet and tap water

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada	alavibija, alli beeja
Hindi	akalam, candsur
Malayalam	asali
Tamil	aali, aalividai
Telugu	aadithyalu, aandilee
Marathi	NA
Gujarathi	NA
Punjabi	NA
Kashmiri	NA
Sanskrit	ahaleeva, asalika
English	common cress, garden cress

Properties

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

Dravya

Rasa

Katu (pungent)

Guna

Laghu (lightness), Rooksha (dryness), Teekshna (strong, piercing)

Veerya

Ushna (Hot potency)

Vipaka

Katu (pungent)

Karma

Kapha, Vata

Prabhava

Habit

Annual plant

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature
Pinnate/Pinnatifid	Alternate	Basal leaves long-petioled, irregularly pinnatifid, drying early; cauline ones sessile, pinnate, less incised with oblong-linear segments, sparsely pubescent with simple hairs; upper ones linear, entire.

Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
Bisexual	Terminal and axillary racemes	White	6	pedicels cylindric, ascending or subappressed, to 3.5 mm long in fruit, glabrous. Sepals 1.5-1.75 mm long, sparsely pubescent outside. Petals spathulate, somewhat clawed, 2.5-2.75 mm long, sometimes reddish and distinctly nerved.

Fruit

Type	Size	Mass	Appearance	Seeds	More information
Silicula	5-6 x 3-5 mm across		compressed, keeled at the back, apex emarginate and broadly winged, glabrous, style about 0.2-0.5 mm long, included or rarely excluded from the apical notch	Seeds reddish brown, slightly compressed or flattened, ovate-ovoid, winged, about 2-3 x 1-1.75 mm across, smooth minutely reticulate, nicely mucilaginous when soaked, cotyledons incumbent	{{{6}}}

Other features

List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used

• Dhanwatararishtam
• Vat Vidhwans ras
• Chaturbeeja churna

Mode of Propagation

Seeds, Cuttings.

How to plant/cultivate

Easily grown in most soils[21][22], preferring a calcareous soil. Thrives in a dry lightly shaded position[16], though it prefers full sun. Plants usually self-sow quite freely when growing in a suitable position[19]. The seeds are contained in burrs that can easily attach themselves to clothing or animal's fur, thus transporting them to a new area where they can germinate and grow.The cultivar 'Sweet scented' is popular in France for making tea because the whole plant is sweet scented and the flowers have a spicy apricot-like fragrance

Commonly seen growing in areas

Temperate area, Trophical area.

Photo Gallery

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  young plants

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  cultivated for salad

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  abloom with first seeds

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  Leaves

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  Flowers

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  Seeds

External Links

• Lepidium sativum on envis centre on medicinal plants

• Lepidium sativum on Charmahantri plants
• Lepidium sativum-uses, side effects