Strobilanthes scaber Nees

Family: Acanthaceae

Synonym:Ruellia scabra Wall. 

Bengali/Vernacular name:Khaskhasabila.

Tribal name: Sagra rang mui (Marma).

English name:Kimchat.

Description of the plant:A pubescent herb, 30-80 cm tall, rootstock woody. Leaves petiolate, petiole up to 3 cm long, lamina 10 X 4 cm, elliptic, acuminate, crenate, scabrous, nerves 7-8 pairs. Inflorescence of dense spikes, 3-6 cm long, often clustered, flowers yellow. Fruits a capsule, 4-seeded.

Plant parts used: Leaf, root.

Herbal uses: Decoction prepared from the leaves of the plant is taken to treat stomach ailments.

A paste made with the leaves of the plant is applied to the infected skin once a day for five days to treat body itching.

A fresh juice extracted from the roots of the plant is taken thrice a day (5 ml amount each time) until the hysteria is cured.

Juice extracted from the leaves of the plant is given for the treatment of gynecologcial complexity.

Fomentation is given to the affected parts of the body, with the leaf-paste of the plant binding with a piece of cloth and after heated on fire, thrice a day for three days to treat bruise.

Distribution: The species is found in Chittagong, Bandarban, Rangamati, Patuakhali, Dhaka, and Sylhet districts.

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