Family – Papilionacea
The drug which has been studied in this work is the classical drug called as Saliparni. Saliparni is common classical drug which has been mentioned in various ayurvedic classical texts. It is a commonly available plant with a wide range of uses.
Like with some ayurvedic drugs, there is confusion regarding the identification and nomenclature of the plant. While the vaidyas in the northern part of India consider it as the species Desmodium gangeticum, the vaidyas of the south identifies it as the species Pseudarthria viscida. Since the work has been done in south India the species Pseudarthria viscida has been studied and explained in this work.
Rasadi Gunas:
Rasa - Madhura, Tikta
Guna- Guru, Snigdha
Veerya - Usna
Vipaka – Madhura
Synonyms
The various synonyms according to various ayurvedic texts are,
1-vidarigandha – The arises as the kanda or the stem has the smell similar to that of vidari(Ipomea digitata)
2 -amsumati –It is named so due to the shape of it’s root which resembles the rays of sun
3-Salaparni – The name orginatd due to its similarity to the leaves to that of leaves of sala tree (shorea robusta)
4-Sthira – It is so called, as its root exists in the land for a long period of time.
5-Dirghapatra – As it has long and narrow leaves
6-Dirghamula – This name arised due to its long roots
7-Dhirghangi – This name originated due to its long limbed branches.
8-Ekamula – It is named so as it has a single root
9-Saliparni – The name originated due to its resemblance of its leaves to the leaves of that of Sali or Paddi
10-Vrihiparni – The name aroused due to the similarity of its leaves to that of Vrihi or a Bear
Distribution and habitat
Saliparni is a common plant found in almost all districts of southern parts of India. It is mainly seen in areas from southwards of the river Godavari. It is very common in Kerala, where it is found in areas of sea level to up to that of 3000feet in the hills. It grows well in the dry gravelling soil under cover and also as undergrowth in damp forest. It is mainly seen as a weed and grows wildly through out.
Habit
It is villous or viscid, pubescent, semi erect, or more often diffusely creeping “Desmodium like” perennial under shrub up to 2 feet high with several slender, mostly prostrate or tailing branches with long internodes often rooting at the nodes, bearing palmately trifoliate leaves almost invariably marked with pale green or greenish white irregular patches. They have elongate filiform racemes of small bright purplish or pink flowers and very sticky or adhering pods about three fourth of an inch long and quarter inch broad.
External morphology
Branches
Branches are many. They are 2-4 feet long or even longer. The branches are covered with soft fine grayish white pubescence.
Leaves
Leaves are pinnately trifoliate, alternate, and stipulate. Stipules are free and hairy. The leaves are lanceolate, subulate or cuspidate. They are 4.5-6mm long deciduous. They have leaflets with filiform stipules below. Lateral leaflets are rhombiform or ovate. They are present one or two inches either way. The terminal one, to be rhomboid ovate. Petioles are densely hairy and half to one inch long.
Inflorescence
They have a fairly long terminal erect hairy raceme often with one or more smaller branches arising from the axils of the uppermost leaves.
Flower
Flowers are many, small, deep purple, red or pink color. They are arranged in distantly placed fascicles of 2 to 4 or comparatively long spreading, filiform pedicels jointed or articulated close beneath the calyx. Bracts are narrow lanceolate subulate calyx about a tenth of an inch long, hairy canpanulate left to middle in 2 obscure lips, 5 toothed- the upper two subconnate forming an upper lip
Corolla is nearly twice as long as the calyx. They are papilionaceous, exerted and with petals nearly equal.
Stamens are diadelphous- nine and one. Anthers are uniform. Ovary is sub sessile and many ovules. Style short subulate or filiform
Fruit
A flat compressed or slightly inflated linear oblong indehiscent one celled legume half to three quarters of an inch long and about one fourth an inch broad. With its chamber continuous with in. the valves of the fruit are membranous transversely, veined and closely covered with many stiff hooked viscid hairs. The sutures are densely ciliate but not usually intended or only slightly indented.
Seed
Seeds are varying from four to six. They are brownish black in color, compressed and some what reniform in structure.
Histology
The transverse section is circular. It shows a central strand of wood, a narrow bark and a thin dark brown strip of cork.
The cork tissue is compressed of 10-15 rows of thick walled rectangular cells. Those towards the periphery often have dark brown contents. A distinct phellogen with a few rows of phelloderm within is made out
The cortex is comparatively narrow and composed of oblong cells. A noteworthy feature of this region is the presence of short tangential rows or series of very large thin walled cells filled with brownish contentswithin the broadened distal ends of the medullary rays. Small irregular groups of sclerenchyma also occur here. The medullary rays are 2-3 and their cells are loaded with stacks. The phloem is of usual type. The xylem or wood is composed of a large portion of wood fibers, a small amount of xylem. Parenchyma and xylem vessels, in addition to the medullary rays. The xylem parenchyma cells contain starch
Useful part
Roots are the commonly used part however the whole plant is also used
Chemical constituents
Root contain yellow resinous matter, oil, alkaline substance and 6% ash
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