koduveli

 

Lal Chitrak is a plant commonly cultivated in gardens throughout India. This winter flowering plant begins to show off its soft red, festive colors in time for winters. A nice change from the traditional poinsettia, this Indian native continues to flower for months to come. Lal Chitrak makes an outstanding container plant for a sunny window. Watch with fascination how the flowers keep emerging on the same flower spike from winter until spring. This is an erect or spreading, more or less branched, herbaceous or half-woody plant 1.5 meters or less in height. The leaves are ovate to oblong-ovate, 8 to 13 centimeters long, slightly drooping, and smooth, with entire, undulate or wavy margins, pointed or blunt tip, and pointed base. The spikes are 15 to 30 centimeters long. The calyx is tubular, 8 to 10 millimeters long, and covered with stalked, sticky glands. The corolla is bright red, the tube is slender and about 2.5 centimeters long, and the limb, which spreads, is about 3 cm in diameter.
The root of Leadwort plant is processed and used for Naseum (drops into the nose) a treatment to combat snake poison (Cobra) .The juice of the plant is used for making pills.

  

Vellakoduveli  is a wild perennial herb, found all over Kerala. The small herbaceous plant produces bunches of jasmine-like flowers. The plant got the name from the color of the flower (vella means white and koduveli is the name of the plant l’s in vella is pronounced like l in ‘call’ and the ‘l’ in koduveli is pronounced like the ‘l’ in ‘love’).

The plant is used in Ayurvedic medicine. The roots have diuretic properties. Vellakkoduveli is used in the treatment of diarrhea, piles, fever and certain skin diseases.

Plumbago zeylancia belongs to the family Plumbaginaceae

 Chethikoduveli,   This herb is commonly used for treating piles (hemorrhoids). Wild Yam is also used along with this.  Cleansing of the herb is done with lime water (Calcium hydroxide). 

Chethikoduveli is used in the making of several ayurvedic medicines