Zornia gibbosa

• Botanical Name : Zornia gibbosa Span.
• Synonyms : Zornia graminea Span.
• Common Name : Grasslike Zornia, Samam-Pani
• Plant Family : Papilionaceae
• Plant Form : Herb
• Occurrence (Special Areas) : Indroda Park, Punit Van, Aranya Van

About Zornia gibbosa Plant :

• Habit : An annual, prostrate, much branched herb with branches more or less pubescent.
• Leaves :
  • Bifoliate, stipules large, lanceolate, produced below their insertion into a triangular spur (or stipules may be said to be peltate).
  • Leaflets variable in size and shape, linear lanceolate, glabrous, dotted with black glands beneath.
• Flowers :
  • In small racemes, terminal, bracteates, bracts leafy, similar to the stipules.
  • Calyx membranous, corolla longer than the calyx, yellow in colour.
• Fruit : Pods 1-6 jointed, enclosed by the bracts or exserted, the joints easily separable, covered with spines.
• Flowering and Fruiting Time : August - September
• Significance : The root is given to induce sleep in children.