Habenaria plantaginea, Plantain habenaria, kadali habe-amri

Habenaria plantaginea Lindl.
Family: Orchidaceae

English: Plantain habenaria
Marathi: कदली हबेअमरी kadali habe-amri
Bangladesh: Kusuma gadda

Description: Herbs; stem 6-20 cm high. Leaves 3 or 4, 5.5-8.5 x 2-3 cm, elliptic or elliptic-oblong, acute, adpressed to the ground. Flowers white, in about 26 cm long, lax raceme; dorsal sepal 5 x 4 mm, broadly ovate, obtuse, 3-veined, hooded; lateral sepals 6 x 3.5 mm, obliquely elliptic, obtuse, 5-veined; petals 4 x 2 mm, obliquely elliptic-oblong, obtuse, 1-veined; lip 3-lobed; lateral lobes 6 x 7 mm, ovate, subacute, crenate; midlobe 6 x 2 mm, spathulate, subacute; spur 33 mm long, cylindric, acute. 

 

Tubers of H. plantaginea are used to treat wasting diseases, fever, disorders of blood, haemorrhage and fainting. In the Eastern Ghats of Andra Pradesh, tubers of H. plantaginea, together with black pepper and garlic, are pounded into a paste and converted into tablets. One or two tablets are given to relieve chest pain and stomach ache. In Bangladesh, tubers are also used to treat chest pain and stomach ache. Medicinal Orchids of Asia]

1. Eco-friendly and cost-effective Ag nanocrystals fabricated using the leaf extract of Habenaria plantaginea: toxicity on six mosquito vectors and four non-target species
By: Aarthi, Chinnadurai; Govindarajan, Marimuthu; Rajaraman, Pichaimuthu; et al.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH  Volume: 25   Issue: 11   Special Issue: SI   Pages: 10317-10327   Published: APR 2018

 
2. Habenaria plantaginea Lindl. (Orchidaceae) - an addition to the flora of Chandigarh.
By: Dogra, K. S.; Ambrish Kumar; Jalal, J. S.
Indian Journal of Forestry  Volume: 41   Issue: 1   Pages: 95-96   Published: 2018

 
3. STUDY ON PRELIMINARY PHYTOCHEMICAL AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY AGAINST HUMAN PATHOGENS OF AN ENDANGERED ORCHID-HABENARIA PLANTAGINEA LINDL, By: Keerthiga, M.; Anand, S. P.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES AND RESEARCH  Volume: 6   Issue: 3   Pages: 1101-1106   Published: MAR 2015 

 
4. Antidiabetic effect of various fractions of Habenaria plantaginea root in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
By: Goutam Ghosh; Debajyoti Das; Agnimitra Dinda; et al.
International Journal of Phytomedicine  Volume: 4   Issue: 1   Pages: 90-98   Published: 2012