Physalis minima L.
| Synonym : | Physalis micrantha Link. Physalis angulata var. villosa Bonati Physalis parviflora R. Br. |
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| Bangla Name : | Phutka, Ban Tipariya, Tepari. ,Faooma, Afang falow (Marma), Sisitappa, Thepa (Garo). |
| English Name : | Cape Gooseberry, Winter Cherry. |
| Family : | Solanacee |
| Disease : | Earache, tonic, diuretic, purgative, gonorrhoea and leukemia. |
| Description : | An annual herb up to 90 cm high, glabrous to glandular hairy or patent villous. Stem and branches angular. Leaves 5-7 cm long, elliptic or ovate or toothed. Flowers solitary, axillary. Calyx 3-5 mm long, teeth triangular, acute. Corolla 6-7 mm long, yellow, usually with purple spots on the inner corolla base. Berry about 1 cm across, entirely enveloped in the enlarged calyx, which is ovoid or subglobose, 1.3- 2.5 cm long, membranous, 5- or sometimes 10-ribbed. Seeds many, discoid or reniform. |
| Distribution : | All over the country in fallow lands. |
| Chemical Constituents : | Leaves and roots contain tumour-inhibiting steroidal alkaloids. Leaves contain anti-inflammatory polyphenols, quercetin-3-0-galactoside, plant sterols, vitamins A and C, and the roots, tropane-type alkaloids. 5?, 6?-Epoxyphysalin B, withaphysalins A, B, |
| Uses : | Leaf juice mixed with water and mustard oil is used as a remedy for earache. Fruits are tonic, diuretic, and purgative, used in gonorrhoea and spleen disorder. Alkaloids of this plant may have potential use for leukemia chemotherapy and that in high doses |
| Habit : | Herb |