Osbeckia aspera (Meerb. ex Walp.) Blume

Family: Melastomataceae

Taxonomy: Plantae > Tracheophyte > Eudicots > Rosids > Myrtales > Melastomataceae > Osbeckia > O. aspera

Common name [English]: Rough osbeckia, rough small-leaved spider flower

Vernacular name [Malayalam]: കാട്ടുകദളി

Nativity: South India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh

Habitat: Evergreen forests and grasslands, also in the plains.

Description: Erect shrubs; branchlets more or less pubescent with appressed to spreading hairs. Leaves: elliptic-lanceolate, base attenuate, acute to shortly acuminate at apex, basally 5-ribbed, more or less pubescent with appressed short hairs on both sides, drying yellowish-green; petiole to 1 cm long. Flowers c. 2 cm across, in terminal cymes, sometimes elongated clusters, pentamerous. Calyx tube 6-8 mm long, c. 5 mm wide, cupular, with dense short bristle-like hairs; lobes 5, oblong, obtuse. Petals: 5, pink, ovate, apex rounded. Stamens 10; anthers 5-6 mm long. Ovary hairy at apex; style exserted, stigma curved, papillate. Capsules: ovoid, ribbed. Seeds many.

Flowering and fruiting: August-April

Uses: Ayurveda, Folk medicine, Siddha

Cultivation: Wild , Cultivated

References

http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org

https://indiabiodiversity.org