Thunbergia erecta (Benth.) T.Anderson

Family: Acanthaceae

Synonym:Meyenia erecta Benth.

Bengali/Vernacular name:Nilghanta.

Tribal name: Luch choai yee (Marma).

English name:Bush clock vine, King’s mantle.

Description of the plant: An erect, small shrub, 1-2 m tall, glabrous. Leaves shortly petiolate, lanceolate-ovate or ovate-elliptic to obovate, basally rounded, entire or distinctly serrate, acute, apiculate. Inflorescence axillary, flowers 4-6 cm long, 1-2 nate, tube infundibuliform, more or less curved, yellowish-white or white, glandular hairy outside, lobes subequal, obtuse, lobes and mouth bluish-purple or violet, sometimes whitish, throat ochre-coloured.

Plant parts used:  Leaf, stem.

Herbal uses:A paste made with the leaves of the plant is applied to the forehead once a day for three days to treat headache.

Paste prepared from the leaves and stems of the plant is applied to the affected parts of the body until the rheumatism is cured.

Distribution: The species occurs in Chittagong, Sylhet, and Dhaka districts.

Is this plant misidentified? If yes, please tell us….