Euphorbia prostrata - Dugdhikā

Euphorbia hirta, Asthma-plant, Dugdhika

Name in different languages
Sanskrit	Nagarjuni, Pusitoa
Hindi	Lal Dudhi
Kannada	Akkegida
Bengali	Barakeru
Gujarati	{{{gujarati}}}
Malayalam	Nelapalai
Tamil	Amman Pacharisi
Telugu	Nanabala
Marathi	Moti Dudhi
Kashmiri	{{{kashmiri}}}

Dugdhika (sometimes called asthma-plant) is a pantropical weed, possibly native to India. It is a hairy herb that grows in open grasslands, roadsides and pathways. It is widely used as a medicinal herb. It is also called as Euphorbia hirta, Sudauparni, Kempuneneyakki, etc

Description

This erect or prostrate annual herb can get up to 60 cm long with a solid, hairy stem that produces an abundant white latex. There are stipules present. The leaves are simple, elliptical, hairy (on both upper and lower surfaces but particularly on the veins on the lower leaf surface), with a finely dentate margin. Leaves occur in opposite pairs on the stem. The flowers are unisexual and found in axillary cymes at each leaf node. They lack petals and are generally on a stalk. The fruit is a capsules with three valves and produces tiny, oblong, four-sided red seeds. It has a white or brown taproot.

Uses

• Decoction of dry herbs is used for skin diseases.
• Root decoction is also used in the treatment of nursing mother deficient in milk.
• The roots are used for snake bites.

Common name

• Hindi- Dudhi

External Links

• Euphorbia_hirta-Wikipedia