Medicinal plant details
Clitoria ternateaL.
(Shankapushpi)
| Common name | Shankapushpi |
| Habit | Climber |
| Habitat | Open areas, forest clearings, thickets, scrub jungles and also cultivated |
| Parts used | Whole plant |
Synonyms
| Sr. No. | Synonyms |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ternatea vulgaris Kunth |
| 2 | Clitoria tanganicensis Micheli |
| 3 | Clitoria ternatea var. angustifolia Hochst. ex Baker f. |
| 4 | Ternatea ternatea (L.) Kuntze |
| 5 | Clitoria mearnsii De Wild. |
| 6 | Clitoria zanzibarensis Vatke |
| 7 | Clitoria ternatea var. ternatea – |
| 8 | Clitoria albiflora Mattei |
| 9 | Clitoria bracteata Poir. |
| 10 | Clitoria parviflora Raf. |
| 11 | Clitoria ternatea var. pilosula (Benth.) Baker |
| 12 | Clitoria ternatensium Crantz |
| 13 | Lathyrus spectabilis Forssk. |
| 14 | Ternatea vulgaris Kuntze |
| 15 | Clitoria coelestris Siebert & Voss |
| 16 | Clitoria ternatea var. albiflora Voigt |
| 17 | Clitoria philippensis Perr. |
| 18 | Nauchea bracteata Dupuis ex J.T.Descourt. |
| 19 | Wisteria dubia Walp. |
| 20 | Phaseolus clitorius Noronha |
| 21 | Clitoria spectabilis Salisb. |
| 22 | Derris javanica Miq. |
| 23 | Clitoria caelestis hort. |
| 24 | Nauchea ternatea (L.) J.T.Descourt. |
| 25 | Deguelia javanica (Miq.) Taub. |
| 26 | Pterocarpus javanicus (Miq.) Kuntze |
| 27 | Clitoria ternatea f. ternatea – |
| 28 | Clitoria ternatea f. leucopetala Fantz |
| 29 | Clitoria ternatea f. subpolyadelpha Fantz |
| 30 | Clitoria ternatea f. albiflora (Voigt) Fantz |
| 31 | Ternatea indica J.St.-Hil. |
| 32 | Clitoria ternatea var. major Paxton |
| 33 | Clitoria ternatea f. fasciculata Fantz |
| 34 | Clitoria ternatea var. pleniflora Fantz |
| 35 | Clitoria ternatea var. alba Berhaut |
| 36 | Clitoria ternatea var. bracteata (Poir.) DC. |
Taxonomical information
| Kingdom | Viridiplantae |
| Phylum | Streptophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Fabales |
| Family | Fabaceae |
| Genus | Clitoria |
| Species | Clitoria ternatea L. |
Vernacular names
| Sanskrit | Girikarnika, Visnukranta |
| English | Clitoria |
| Hindi | Aparajita |
| Kannada | Girikarnika Balli, Girikarnika |
| Marathi | Gokarna, Aparajita |
| Malayalam | Shankhpushpam |
| Bengali | Aparajita |
| Tamil | Kakkanam |
| Telugu | Dintena, Sankupushpam |
| Urdu |
Morphology
It is a perennial climbing herb, growing from woody rootstock upto 6 m in height. Leaves are imparipinnate with 2-4 pairs of leaflets and terminal leaflet. Leaflets are ovate, obtuse at the apex, alternate distichous in arrangement and entire margin. Flowers are bright blue in colour, solitary or in clusters, resupinate, large and showy. Fruit is a linear, oblong pod, compressed, apically beaked. Seeds which is 10-15 in number, reniform in shape
Distribution
It is originated from tropical Asia and distributed to Africa, Asia, Australia, North-America, and South America. Within India, it is distributed in the states like Assam, Maharasthra, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu
Medicinal uses
Urinary diseases, skin diseases, inflammation, ulcer, pain
References
| 1 | Al-Snafi, A. E. (2016). Pharmacological importance of Clitoria ternatea–A review. IOSR Journal of Pharmacy, 6, 68-83. |