Cassia alata

Botanical name : Cassia alata Linn. (C. herpetica Jacq)
Family : Caesalpiniaceae

SANSKRIT SYNONYMS
Dadrughna, Dvipagasti

AYURVEDIC PROPERTIES
Rasa : Tikta, Amla
Guna : Lakhu, Rooksha
Virya : Seeta
Vipaka : Katu

PLANT NAME IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
English : Ringworm shrub
Hindi : Dadmurdan
Malayalam : Aanattakara, Malamtakara, Seema agatti, Puzhukkadittakara

Distribution – Throughout India, growing wild.

PLANT DESCRIPTION
An annual or binneal shrub grows up to 2.5 meters in height. Leaves compound, paripinnate, leaflets oblong, obtuse, membranous; flowers seen in long terminal spikes, yellow and showy. Fruits green angulated dehiscent pods, contain numerous compressed brown colored ovate seeds.

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Plant pacifies vitiated kapha, pitta, inflammation, ringworm, cough, bronchitis, asthma, other skin diseases, intestinal worms, poison, constipation, hemorrhoids, alopecia and sexual weakness.
Useful part : Leaves, Flowers, Roots.