Karimkurunji

Scientific Name :

Strobilanthes ciliatus Nees

Synonym(s) :

Nilgirianthus ciliatus (Nees) Bremek.

Local/Common name(s) :

Karimkurunji

Family :

Acanthaceae

Habit :

Shrubs

Flowering/Fruiting Time :

December-May

Habitat :

Evergreen and semi-evergreen forests

Endemic :

Yes

Status (IUCN) :

Distribution :

Southern Western Ghats

Nativity :

Indigenous

Uses :

Medicine

Description (Morphology) :

Shrubs, branches terete, glabrous. Leaves simple, opposite, 10-15 x 3-5 cm, acuminate at both ends, glabrous, nerves 5 pairs, raised above, scabrid; petiole 2 cm long. Spikes 1.5 cm long, axillary, solitary, peduncled; bracts 6 x 4 mm, obovate; bracteoles 5 x 1 mm, linear-oblong; flowers 5-15. Calyx 5 mm long, lobes oblong, connate below the middle. Corolla 15 mm long, white with violet or blue patches on lower lobes. Staminal sheath hairy.