Eichhornia CRASSIPES (Mart.) Solms.
| Synonym : | Eichhornia crassicaulis Schltr. Heteranthera formosa Miq. Piaropus mesomelas Raf. Pontederia crassipes Mart. |
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| Bangla Name : | Kachuripana, Jarmuni. |
| English Name : | Water-hyacinth. |
| Family : | Pontederiaceae |
| Disease : | - |
| Description : | Aquatic, free floating herb, sending down a large bunch of long fibrous roots from a very short, leafy, main stem. Petioles spongy, very much swollen in young plants. Leaf-blades broadly ovate or rhomboid, shallowly cordate or rounded at the base, quite glabrous. Inflorescence spiciform, erect, peduncled, bearing 10-20 showy flowers, petals 6, lilac-blue, posterior lobe with a bright yellow median blotch. |
| Distribution : | Throughout the country in ditches, lakes and ponds. |
| Chemical Constituents : | Root contains bound auxin. Plant releases mercury. Flowers yield anthocyanin - eichhornin, characterized as delphinidin-3-diglucoside. Flowers and rhizomes contain quercetin, compesterol, ?-sitosterol & stigmasterol (Asolkar et al., 1992). Fresh leaves co |
| Uses : | For the treatment of goiter the plant juice is given orally and poultice of the plant pulp externally for three months. Shoot extract showed gibberellin-like activity. |
| Habit : | Herb |