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Useful Tropical Plants

Indigofera astragalina

DC.

Fabaceae

+ Synonyms

Indigofera hirsuta auct.

Common Name:

No Image.

General Information

Indigofera astragalina is an erect to straggling, branched annual plant growing around 25 - 150cm tall[
328
Title
African Flowering Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
Publisher
Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
,
372
Title
Flowers of India
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.flowersofindia.net/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A wed site of native Indian plants, plus cultivated and naturalized species. It has good quality photos and terse details on more than 3,000 species and cultivars.
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References


Range

Africa - Mauritania to Eritrea, south to S. Africa, avoiding high rainfall areas; E. Asia - Indian subcontinent to Myanmar

Habitat

Sandy grounds; muddy sand; sand on sandstone; often ruderal; rocaille; waste or cultivated ground; heavely grazed grassland; at elevations up to 1,800 metres[
328
Title
African Flowering Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
Publisher
Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
].

Properties

Medicinal Rating *  *
HabitAnnual
Height0.75 m
PollinatorsInsects
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details


Indigofera species generally grow best in a sunny position, preferring a well-drained but moist soil[
974
Title
Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants - Identification and Cultivation of over 3,000 Tropical Plants
Publication
 
Author
Ahmed Fayaz
Publisher
Firefly Books Ltd.; New Zealand
Year
2011
ISBN
978-1-55407-489
Description
A good photograph and terse but detailed information for over 3,000 species of tropical plants. An excellent reference.
]. Many of the species will also succeed in drier conditions and in poor soils.
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Various parts of this medicinal plant are used in Indian System of Medicine to treat various illnesses such as rheumatism, arthritis, inflammation, tumor and liver diseases[
1500
Title
Radical Scavenging and Antioxidant Activities of Successive Solvent Extracts of Indigofera astragalina
Publication
International Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical and Biological Research, 2016; 1(2):33-43
Author
Shiju V Mathew, Senthil Kumar R. & Manivannan R.
Website
http://www.ijapbr.com
Publisher
 
Year
2016
ISBN
2456-0189
Description
 
].

The leaves are used in the treatment of diarrhoea[
1500
Title
Radical Scavenging and Antioxidant Activities of Successive Solvent Extracts of Indigofera astragalina
Publication
International Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical and Biological Research, 2016; 1(2):33-43
Author
Shiju V Mathew, Senthil Kumar R. & Manivannan R.
Website
http://www.ijapbr.com
Publisher
 
Year
2016
ISBN
2456-0189
Description
 
].

Various extracts of the whole plant have been shown to have significant antioxidant activity, probably due to the presence of flavonoids and phenolic compounds[
1500
Title
Radical Scavenging and Antioxidant Activities of Successive Solvent Extracts of Indigofera astragalina
Publication
International Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical and Biological Research, 2016; 1(2):33-43
Author
Shiju V Mathew, Senthil Kumar R. & Manivannan R.
Website
http://www.ijapbr.com
Publisher
 
Year
2016
ISBN
2456-0189
Description
 
].
Various extracts of the whole plant have been shown to have significant cytotoxic activity against a wide range of animal and human cancer cell lines. This anticancer activity is probably connected to the rich amount of phytochemicals (including alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, polyphenolics and saponins), that are found in the plant[
1501
Title
Phytochemical analysis and in vitro cytotoxic activity of various extracts of Indigofera astragalina
Publication
Der Pharmacia Lettre, 2015, 7 (12):206-210
Author
Senthilkumar Manoharan et al
Website
http://www.scholarsresearchlibrary.com
Publisher
 
Year
2015
ISBN
0975-5071
Description
 
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Like many species within the family Fabaceae, once they have been dried for storage the seeds of this species may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-10-12. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Indigofera+astragalina>

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