Hyptis suaveolens

• Botanical Name : Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit
• Synonyms : Ballota suaveolens L.
• Common Name : Vilayati-Tulsi
• Plant Family : Lamiaceae (Labiatae)
• Plant Form : Herb
• Occurrence (Sectors) : 21, 29
• Occurrence (Special Areas) : Indroda Park, Ayurvedic Udyan

About Hyptis suaveolens Plant :

• Habit : An annualerect, profusely branched, sweet-smelling herb.
• Stem : Stems and branches quadrangular, densely softly hairy, grooved sometimes purplish, internodes 3-7 cm long.
• Leaves : Petiolate, broadly ovate, acute at apex, cordate or rounded at base, irregularly serrate margins, glabrous thinly minutely hairy above, pubescent, villous or tomentose beneath.
• Flowers : Blue or bluish-purple, rarely solitary, in axillary and terminal, sometimes 8-15 cm long, lax panicles.
• Fruit : Nutlets 2, oblong or ovoid, flat, glabrous, blackish-brown, emarginated at apex with a white mark on either side of the pointed base.
• Flowering and Fruiting Time : September-April
• Significance :
  • This plant is considered to be stimulant, carminative, endorific and lactagogue.
  • An infusion of the plant is used in catarrhal conditions, affections of the uterus and parasitical cutaneous diseases.
  • The leaf juice is taken in cases of colic and stomachaches.
  • A decoction of the roots is valued as an appetizer.
  • The root is chewed with betel nuts as a stomachic.