Spade Flower

ativePhoto:Prashant Awale

Common name:Spade Flower, Pink ladies slipper Hindi: Ratan purush Bengali: Munbora Kannada: Purusharathna Malayalam: Orilathamatai Telugu: Ratnapurusha Marathi: Rathanparas Sanskrit: RathnapurushaBotanical name:Hybanthus enneaspermusFamily:Violaceae(Violet family)Synonyms:Ionidium suffruticosum

Spade Flower is a perennial herb or small shrub to 60 cm high, smooth or hairy. Leaves are linear to lance-like, 1-5 cm long, margins recurved to revolute, occasionally flat; stipules acuminate, 1-4 mm long. Pink-purple spade-shaped flowers occur solitary. Sepals 3-4 mm long. Lower petal broad spade-shaped, pink-purple, with deep purple veins. Upper petals linear-oblong, 3-4 mm long; lateral pair 4.5-5 mm long. Anthers without appendages. Capsule 4-9 mm long; seeds 5-12, pitted between ribs.Medicinal uses:This herb is considered to be extremely beneficial to men, used as a diuretic, demulcent and tonic. The root is diuretic and is used in urinary affections and bowel complaints of children. Decoction of leaves and tender stalks is demulcent. The fruit is used to treat scorpion sting. It is a hard task to collect adequate quantities of whole plants, let alone individual parts.Photographed in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu.

Identification credit:Akramul Hoque

Annual herbs to 30 cm high; stem woody at base, scabrous. Leaves subsessile, 0.6-3 x 0.3-1 cm, linear-lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, base attenuate, margins distantly crenate, crenations scabrous hairy, apex acute, hirsute; stipules 1-2 mm long, linear-lanceolate. Flowers axillary, solitary; pedicel 0.6-1.5 cm long, slender. Sepals 5, subequal, 2-3 x 1 mm, lanceolate, acute, ciliate. Petals 5, pinkish, unequal; lower one 0.8-1.5 cm long, suborbicular, clawed, other 4 smaller, 3-5 mm long, elliptic or triangular-oblong. Stamens 5, c. 2 mm long. Ovary ovoid, 1-celled; ovules many; style clavate; stigma oblique. Capsules 5-8 mm long, ovoid. Seeds many, ovoid.