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Mimosa pudica - Lajjika

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Lajjika, Mimosa pudica

Lajjika is an annual to perennial, more or less prostrate creeping plant. The plant can grow up to 1 metre tall. The plant is gathered from the wild for local medicinal use. It is cultivated as a green manure and for soil stabilization and is sometimes also cultivated for its uses in folk medicine. Probably arose in the Neotropics, but now Pantropical.

Uses

Parts Used

Chemical Composition

Mimosa pudica contains various compounds, including "alkaloids, flavonoid C-glycosides, sterols, terenoids, tannins, saponin and fatty acids". The roots of the plant have been shown to contain up to 10% tannin etc.[3]

Common names

Language Common name
Kannada Naachike gida, Naachike mullu
Hindi Chui mui, Lajalu
Malayalam Thendarmani, Thotavadi
Tamil Alavananki
Telugu Atthapatthi, Lajjavanthi
Marathi NA
Gujarathi NA
Punjabi NA
Kashmiri NA
Sanskrit Ajalikalika, Alambusa
English Sensitive plant

[4]

Properties

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

Dravya

Rasa

Tikta (Bitter), Kashaya (Pungent)

Guna

Laghu (Light), Rooksha (Dry)

Veerya

Sheeta (cold)

Vipaka

Katu (Pungent)

Karma

Pitta, Kapha

Prabhava

Habit

Identification

Leaf

Kind Shape Feature
Bipinnate Alternate Borne on stalks (i.e. petioles) 15-60 mm long. They consist of one or two pairs of branchlets (i.e. pinnae) that often have a covering of stiff, prickly, bristles.

[5]

Flower

Type Size Color and composition Stamen More information
Bisexual Axillary Pink 4 The pink or purplish coloured flowers are arranged in small, fluffy, globular or egg-shaped (i.e. ovoid) clusters (9-15 mm across). Flowering from August to April

Fruit

Type Size Mass Appearance Seeds More information
A Pod 10-25 mm long and 3-6 mm wide The oblong and flattened seed pods are borne in clusters at the ends of the flowering stalks. Fruiting from August to April

Other features

List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used

Where to get the saplings

Mode of Propagation

How to plant/cultivate

Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing to speed up germination.[7]

Commonly seen growing in areas

Photo Gallery

References

  1. Uses
  2. ”Karnataka Medicinal Plants Volume-3” by Dr.M. R. Gurudeva, Page No.1076, Published by Divyachandra Prakashana, #6/7, Kaalika Soudha, Balepete cross, Bengaluru
  3. Chemical composition
  4. Vernacular names
  5. Botonic description
  6. Ayurvedic preparations
  7. Cultivation details

External Links