Country-mallow is also known as Snake mallow, flannelweed, Heartleaf Fanpetals, Long-stalk Sida, Heart-Leaf Sida etc. it is called Bananiyar, Faridbuti, Bhyunli and bhuinii in Hindi , Bhumi petari, Bhuinchikna, Bhoybal in Marathi, Junka in Bengali, Kurunthotti, Palampasi, Mayirmanikkam in Tamil, Vallikkuruntotti, Kuruntotti, Nela-Vaga in Malayalam, Benda, Gayapaku, Tirunala in Telugu, Bekkinathale Gida in Kannada, Bhoybala in Gujarati , Bhumibala, Nagabala, Rajbala, Gangeruki, Visvadeva, Jhasna, Kharagandhika, Khanda, Hrasva Gavedhuka in Sanskrit. In Oriya we call it Bisiripi.
Its Botanical name is Sida Cordata (also Melochia cordata, Sida humilis, Sida veronicifolia). The generic name Sida Cordta is derived from Greek word Sida which means a species of water lily. Cordata means heart shaped. The leaves of the plant have obviously that shape.
It’s a common weed found everywhere in tropical countries. It is found throughout India in roadsides and wastelands.
It’s a non-woody hairy herb with slender trailing branches, sparingly hispid, frequently procumbent and sometimes rooting at nodes. The stem, petioles & pedicles of the plant are hairy. The leaves are long petioled, ovate to cordate, acuminate, and serrate with alternate and short teeth. The flowers are pale yellow, usually solitary or borne in pairs or in small cymes, found in axils. Fruits are schizocarp located within the persistent calyx. The Seeds are brownish and sub-globose and 3.5 to 3.8 mm. in diameter. It is a perennial plant. It flowers and fruits throughout the year.
The whole plant has great medicinal value. The roots taste sweet, sour, bitter and acrid. It is astringent, stomachic, febrifuge, thermogenic and tonic. It’s a good medicine for treatment in uropathy. So it is diuretic. The juice of the whole plant is used in retention of urine, urinary infection, dysuria, and spermatorrhoea. The bark of the root is used for treatment of leucorrhoea, gonorrhea and hyperdiuresis. It has haemostatic, analgesic and wound healing properties. The leaf paste is applied as a poultice to cuts and bruises. Paste of either root or leaves is used in bleeding disorders and wounds. It is applied in elephantiasis also. The flowers and unripe fruits are refrigerant, it is mixed with sugar and is given to relieve burning sensation. This mixture is also used to treat micnutrition. The leaves are known as demulcent and are used in opthalmia. Seeds are considered as laxative and are recommended in crysittiscolic tenseness and piles. The plant is useful in acidity, peptic disorder, constipation, relieves flatulence and heartburn.The whole plant is used in treatment of skin troubles, rheumatism, asthma, cough, bronchitis, and diarrhoea. The decoction of the entire plant is given to prevent joint swellings in arthritis. Being a nervine and brain tonic, it is useful in treatment of loss of memory, general debility and muscle wasting. It is also used to convalesce from post- abortion weakness. It acts as an aphrodisiac and used in loss of libido. It has nourishing and rejuvenating properties. It used in neuromuscular disorders with loss of function and weakness. It is especially used in chronic respiratory disorders where it helps eliminating accumulated mucus, promotes healing and restores the strength. It cures dyspnoea, tuberculosis and hoarseness of voice.
How wonderful it is! Just think. It seems such a small and seemingly insignificant weed with tiny flowers which grows in wasteland. But see how potent it is with such great medicinal value. That’s called the magic of nature and handiwork of the lord.
