Occurrence (Special Areas) :
Gujarat Forestry Research Foundation, Ayurvedic Udyan
About Gymnema sylvestre Plant :
Habit : A woody climber.
Leaves : Ovate, elliptic, small, acute, cordate.
Flowers :
Yellow in umbellate cymes, bracts small.
Calyx of 5 segmenets, deeply divided.
Corolla of 5 processes, alternating with lobes, staminal column from the corolla-base, anthers short with appendages, pollinia one in each cell, style-apex exserted.
Fruit : Follicles beaked, seeds comose.
Flowering and Fruiting Time : April-May
Significance :
The sugar loses its sweetness in the mouth after the leaves of this plant are chewed.
It stimulates the heart and increases urine secretion and good for the treatment of diabetes and glycosuria- 2 to 4 grams of dry leaves per day.
