Lakhudronapushpi Impatiens minor linn
Lakhudronapushpi Impatiens minor linn
SYNONYMS
- Lakhudronapushpi
- Vatikadrona
VERNACULAR NAMES
English : Wild balsam
Hindi : Ban gulmendi
Malayalam : Kasitumba, cherutumba
SYSTEMIC CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom : Plantae
Phylum : Angiosperm
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Geraniales
Family : Balsaminaceae
Genus : Impatiens
Species : minor
FAMILY CHARACTERS
Balsaminaceae
Habit and leaf form: Herbs (generally with translucent stems, rarely almost shrubby); with watery juice. Plants more or less succulent. Annual, or perennial; with a basal aggregation of leaves, or with neither basal nor terminal aggregations of leaves. Helophytic, or mesophytic. Leaves medium-sized; alternate, or opposite, or whorled; when alternate, spiral; when whorled, 3 per whorl; flat; petiolate; non-sheathing; simple; epulvinate. Lamina entire; acicular to linear, or oblong to ovate; pinnately veined; cross-venulate. Leaves exstipulate (as generally interpreted), or stipulate. Stipules if detectable, represented by glands. Lamina margins entire, or crenate, or serrate.
Leaf anatomy: Hydathodes commonly present. Stomata present; anomocytic, or anisocytic. Hairs usually absent
The mesophyll containing calcium oxalate crystals. The mesophyll crystals raphides. Minor leaf veins with phloem transfer cells (Impatiens).
Stem anatomy:Nodes unilacunar. Primary vascular tissue comprising a ring of bundles. Secondary thickening absent. Xylem with vessels. Vessel end-walls simple. Sieve-tube plastids S-type.
Reproductive type, pollination: Plants hermaphrodite. Pollination entomophilous; mechanism conspicuously specialized (as regards the androecium/gynoecium relationship).
Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology:Flowers solitary, or aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; when aggregated, in cymes. The ultimate inflorescence unit (when flowers aggregated) cymose. Inflorescences or flowers axillary; small, sometimes umbelliform cymes, or the flowers solitary. Flowers bracteate; bracteolate, or ebracteolate; medium-sized; very irregular; zygomorphic; resupinate (often, the anterior organs appearing posterior and the large, spurred posterior sepal appearing anterior in the mature flower), or not resupinate. The floral irregularity involving the perianth and involving the androecium. Flowers basically 5 merous; cyclic; tetracyclic. Free hypanthium absent. Hypogynous disk absent.
Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 2 whorled; isomerous, or anisomerous; different in the two whorls. Calyx 5, or 3 (often coloured, the 208,8/10 morphologically anterior pair reduced or missing, the two laterals small and displaced forward to the anterior aspect of the flower, the posterior large and heavy); 1 whorled; polysepalous; unequal but not bilabiate; usually spurred (via the large member); not persistent (caducous); imbricate; with the median member posterior (before resupination).
Corolla 5 (but often simulating three by fusion of the lateral pairs to form two equally or unequally bilobed ‘petals’); 1 whorled; polypetalous (Hydrocera), or partially gamopetalous (Impatiens). 4 of the petals joined (the large, morphologically anterior member remaining distinct, the latero-posterior members joined to form two compound ‘petals’). The joined petals latero- posterior (before resupination). Corolla imbricate; unequal but not bilabiate.
Androecium :5. Androecial members free of the perianth; free of the gynoecium (but connate around it, forming a deciduous calyptra); markedly unequal; coherent (the short, broad filaments free below but connate above); 1 adelphous; 1 whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 5; isomerous with the perianth; oppositisepalous; alternating with the corolla members.
Anthers connivent, or cohering (around the top of the ovary); ultimately rupturing at the base, and lifted away as a calyptra by the elongating pistil; introrse; tetrasporangiate. Endothecium developing fibrous thickenings. Anther epidermis persistent. Microsporogenesis simultaneous. The initial microspore tetrads tetrahedral, or isobilateral. Anther wall initially with more than one middle layer. Tapetum glandular. Pollen grains aperturate; 3 aperturate, or 4–5 aperturate; colpate; 2-celled.
Gynoecium :5 carpelled. Carpels isomerous with the perianth. The pistil 5 celled. Gynoecium syncarpous; synstylovarious, or eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary 5 locular. Gynoecium non-stylate (the stigma almost sessile), or stylate (the style very short). Styles 1; apical. Stigmas 1, or 5; wet type; non-papillate; Group IV type. Placentation axile. Ovules 2–3 per locule (Hydrocera), or 5–50 per locule (numerous, in Impatiens); funicled; pendulous; apotropous; with dorsal raphe; superposed (in one series); anatropous; bitegmic, or unitegmic (by fusion); tenuinucellate. Outer integument not contributing to the micropyle. Endothelium differentiated. Embryo-sac development Polygonum-type, or Allium-type. Polar nuclei fusing prior to fertilization. Antipodal cells formed; 3; not proliferating; ephemeral. Synergids pear-shaped. Endosperm formation cellular. Endosperm haustoria present; chalazal and micropylar (the latter much the stronger). Embryogeny onagrad.
Fruit: fleshy (Hydrocera), or non-fleshy (Impatiens); dehiscent, or indehiscent; a capsule (Impatiens), or a drupe (berry-like, in Hydrocera). Capsules of Impatiens loculicidal. Fruit of Impatiens elastically dehiscent. Seeds non-endospermic (or ‘scantily endospermic’, in Impatiens). Embryo well differentiated. Cotyledons 2 (expanded); plano-convex. Embryo achlorophyllous (1/2); straight.
Seedling:Germination phanerocotylar.
HABITAT
It is found in wet forest of western ghats,also grows naturally in waste lands throughout India, mainly in South-west India, Sri Lanka, Shimoga.
MORPHOLOGY
Habit: Small succulent annual herb grows usually during the rainy season ,growing to only 10-15 cm tall, with glassy stem.
Leaves: Oppositely arranged, elliptic or ovate-lanceolate leaves are 2-2.5 x 0.4-0.8 cm in size, and have distantly serrated margins with tiny glands in them. Leaf stalk is 0.2-1 cm long, often glandular
Flower: Flowers 6-8 mm long, pink or white, usually axillary, solitary. Flower stalks are 1 cm long.
Calyx: Sepals are 3, lateral ones 2-2.5 mm long, linear; spur 1-1.2 cm long.
Corolla: Petals 3, free, upper rounded ; wings large, obovate, entire.
Androecium: Stamens 5; isomerous with the perianth; oppositisepalous; alternating with the corolla.
Gynoecium: 5 carpelled. Carpels isomerous with the perianth.
Fruit: Pale green dehiscent capsules,containing small globose black seeds.
Seeds: Seeds 1 mm across, globose.
Flowering: September.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
Crude methanolic extracts of Impatiens as well as its different fraction namely n-hexane (A), dichloromethane (B), ethyl acetate (C), n-butanol (D) and aqueous (E) were tested Invitro for their insecticidal, cytotoxic and phytotoxic activities. Only n-hexane (A) fraction showed moderate insecticidal activity while ethyl acetate (C), n-butanol (D) and aqueous (E) fractionsindicated low insecticidal activity. All fractions except n-butanol (D) indicated significant phytotoxicity. Cytotoxic results observed were also very low as compared to standard used and only dichloromethane (B) fraction showed cytotoxicity at higher dose while all other fractions as well as crude extract exhibited moderate to low activity in killing the tested brine shrimps.
PROPERTIES
Rasa : Kashaya
Guna : Guru, Snighda
Virya : Sheetha
Vipaka : Katu
PART USED
- Whole plant
KARMA
- Pittahara
- Kasahara
- Swasahara
PRAYOGA
- Inflammation
- Burns
- Scalds
- Gonorrhea
- Bacterial infections
- Asthma
- Cough
- Bronchitis
- Ulcer
- Constipation
- Arthritis
- Urinary retention
- Excessive exfoliation of skin
PHAMACOTHERAPEUTIC USES
- Impatiens for the impatience, irritability, and agitation often accompanying stress. This may sometimes result in muscle tension and pain
- Phytotoxic activity: Phytotoxic activity was determined by using the modified protocol of Lemna minor (Ali et al., 2009). The medium was prepared by mixing various constituents in 100 ml distilled water and the pH was adjusted (5.5-6.5) by adding KOH solution. The medium was then autoclaved at 121°C for 15 minutes. The extracts dissolved in ethanol (20 mg/ml) served as stock solution. Nine sterilized flasks, three for
each concentration, were inoculated with 1000 μl, 100 μl and 10 μl of the stock solution for 500, 50 and 5 pm respectively. The solvent was allowed to evaporate overnight under sterile conditions. To each flask, medium (20 ml) and plants (10), each containing a rosette of three fronds of Lemna minor L., was added. All flasks were plugged with cotton and kept in the growth cabinet for 7 days