Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Streptophyta

Class: Equisetopsida

Subclass: Magnoliidae

Order: Piperales

 Family: Piperaceae

 Genus: Peperomia

 Species: Peperomia pellucida

Description: Annular  herbs with erect stem.  Leaves are simple, alternate, shiny light green and heart shaped. Flowers are Small, bisexual and growing in the form of cord – like spikes, arising from the leaf axils. Spikes solitary, terminal but frequently leaf – opposed by overtopping, slender with long peduncle. Flowers simple, minute, sessile and scarcely immersed. Ovary with a fleshy, oblique, subapical stigma. Fruit sessile, long, globose- ellipsoid, with an epical stigma, blackish brown at maturity.  

Uses: The  fresh juice of stem and leaves is used against eye inflammation. It is also used against fever, coughing, common colds head ache, sore throat, diarrhoea. It is used to manage gastrointestinal and respiratory tract disorder in tropical and sub tropical regions. It is also used in Ayurvedic medicines.

Phenology: September – December