Helminthostachys
Encyclopedia
Helminthostachys zeylanica is a terrestrial, herb
aceous, fern
-like plant of southeastern Asia
and Australia
, commonly known as Kamraj and tunjuk-langit. The genus Helminthostachys is monotypic
and, just like the other members of its family, it has clusters of sporangia on stems of fertile, spike-like frond
s.
The rhizome
of this annual plant
is short, creeping, underground, and stout. They can bear either a solitary frond or several fronds. Leaves
are lanceolate with the margins entire or irregularly serrate.
The frond spike arises from the base of the leaves with its own stipe. Below the spike is a sterile leafy segment (the trophophore). Both it and the sporophore arise from a common petiole
.
, where they are known as "Di wu gong". The roots are harvested during the wet season in July-August. Only wild plants are harvested. In Malaysia, the leaves are dried and smoked to treat bleeding nose. The plant is eaten as a vegetable and used medicinally for impotence
in India. It is known in the Philippines
as túkod-langit.
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
aceous, fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
-like plant of southeastern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, commonly known as Kamraj and tunjuk-langit. The genus Helminthostachys is monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
and, just like the other members of its family, it has clusters of sporangia on stems of fertile, spike-like frond
Frond
The term frond refers to a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group...
s.
The rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
of this annual plant
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
is short, creeping, underground, and stout. They can bear either a solitary frond or several fronds. Leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are lanceolate with the margins entire or irregularly serrate.
The frond spike arises from the base of the leaves with its own stipe. Below the spike is a sterile leafy segment (the trophophore). Both it and the sporophore arise from a common petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
.
Uses
The roots of this plant are a popular medicine in ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where they are known as "Di wu gong". The roots are harvested during the wet season in July-August. Only wild plants are harvested. In Malaysia, the leaves are dried and smoked to treat bleeding nose. The plant is eaten as a vegetable and used medicinally for impotence
Erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is sexual dysfunction characterized by the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis during sexual performance....
in India. It is known in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
as túkod-langit.