Jamaican Blue Spike

The scientific name of Jamaican Blue Spike: Stachytarpheta indica Vahl

Family:  Verbenaceae

Name of Jamaican Blue Spike in different languages:-

English: Aaron’s Rod, Wild Verbena,   Blue snakeweed

Hindi: Kariyartharani

Malayalam: Katapunuttu, Narivaly, Kattupunnuthu, Seemakongini

Tamil: Simainaibirunji

Plant description:

It is an annual shrub, found throughout Western Ghats areas, grows to 0.3-0.9 m in height, stems erect, and dichotomously branched. The leaves are 5-10 by 2.52-3.8 cm, elliptic, obtuse or acute, coarsely serrate, glabrous or nearly so, base much tapering and recurrently into the petioles which are consequently obscure. Flowers sessile, slender, nearly continuous glabrous spikes reaching 30 cm long, the rachis hollowed out beneath each flower, calyx 6 mm long, membranous, tubular, corolla deep blue, glabrous, filaments slender, hairy below, ovary glabrous. Style long, filiform, glabrous. Fruits 3-4 mm long, oblong, ribbed, splitting into 2 Pyrenees.

Leaf Arrangement

Useful plant parts:

Whole plant

Medicinal uses:

To treat ulcers, fevers, rheumatic inflammation, dysentery, eye trouble, open sores in children’s ears, cure heart trouble

Medicinal properties:

Anti-inflammatory, antirheumatic.