Thunbergia fragrans Roxb.Family: Acanthaceae
Common name: White Clock-Vine, White Lady, white thunbergia
Chinese: 铁贯藤
Hindi: चिमीन Chimin
Japan: yahazu-kazura
Malayalam: Noorvan-valli
Marathi: चिमीन Chimine
Malayalam: Noorvan-valli
Spanish: Flor de nieve
Tamil: இந்த்ரபுஸ்பம் Indrapushpam, Kaasanangaai, Thannikkodi
Othe rnames: benne balli, chakrakedar, chimiti, hegala balli, indrapushapa, indrapushpa balli, indrathige, indratige, intiraputpi, jimandaarathige, koligokke, kolikka, kolikokka, kolikokkai, koliokokkai, noorvan valli, palatheega, simiti, vengachchaan poovu
Description: A slender, herbaceous twiner or climber with quadrangular strigose young shoots. Leaves with 2-4.5 cm long, slender petiole; lamina broadly elliptic to ovate or lanceolate-ovate, (3-) 4-10 x (1.5) 2-5 (-6) cm, entire or few toothed, sparsely strigose on both sides near the truncate to cordate base, palmately 3-5-nerved, acute-acuminate. Flowers white, 4-5 cm long, c. 5 cm across, solitary axillary, on 2-7 cm long stout pedicels; bracts connate and spathaceous, oblong-lanceolate, 1.5-2 cm x c. 6-8 mm, ± acute, hairy. Calyx cupular with 12-16, subulate, 1-3 mm long, glandular hairy teeth. Corolla tube cylindrical, 2-2.5 cm long; lobes 5, subequal, nearly as long as tube, puberulous outside. Staminal filaments glandular-hairy below; anthers oblong, slightly beaked above, without spur at base. Style c. 2 cm long. Capsule depressed globose, c. 8 mm across, scabrid, puberulent, with 1-1.5 cm long beak. Seeds reticulate.
Used in Sidha. Tender twigs made into a paste applied all over the body against the fever. Leaves used as poultice in skin diseases; tender leaf juice poured in nose and the paste applied on face for giddiness, and on forehead for head-ache; crushed leaves decoction drunk for paralysis; leaf paste applied on cuts and wounds; leaves ground with cumin mixed in water and taken orally as abortifacient. Fresh root juice used as eye drops. Magico-religious beliefs, to keep off evil spirits and ghosts, flowers paste applied all over the body and fruits tied as a necklace. [CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants]
7 Published articles of Thunbergia fragrans
