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Carry Me Seed
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Carry Me Seed
aturalized Photo: Tabish
Common name: Carry Me Seed, Black catnip, Child pick-a-back, Gale of wind, Gulf leaf flower, Hurricane weed, Shatterstone, Stone breaker • Hindi: भूई आंवला Bhui aonla, जड़ आमला Jaramla, जंगली अमली Jangli amli • Manipuri: ꯆꯛꯄꯥ ꯍꯩꯀ꯭ꯔꯨ Chakpa heikru • Marathi: भुईआवळी Bhuiavali • Tamil: கீழாநெல்லி keelanelli, கீழ்காய்நெல்லி kizkaynelli • Malayalam: Kilanelli • Telugu: నేల ఉసిరి nela usiri • Bengali: ভূঈ আমলা Bhui amla • Sanskrit: बहुपत्र Bahupatra, भूम्यामलकी Bhumyaamalaki • Kannada: ಕಿರುನೆಲ್ಲಿ Kiru Nelli
Botanical name: Phyllanthus amarus    Family: Phyllanthaceae (Amla family)
Synonyms: Phyllanthus niruri var. amarus, Phyllanthus nanus, Phyllanthus scabrellus

Carry Me Seed is a small herb, usually under 30 cm tall, with numerous small oblong-elliptic or squarish leaves, glabrous, about 6-12 mm long. Yellow flowers are very small, and hang down in beautiful array hidden below the leaves. The flowers produce very small (2 mm) fruits that burst open and the seeds are hurled away. This characteristic has inspired many of its common names. When the plants are picked, the feathery leaves fold in, completely closing themselves.
Medicinal uses: Carry Me Seed is an important plant of Indian Ayurvedic system of medicine which is used in the problems of stomach, genitourinary system, liver, kidney and spleen. It is bitter, astringent, stomachic, diuretic, febrifuge and antiseptic. The whole plant is used in gonorrhea, menorrhagia and other genital affections. It is useful in gastropathy, diarrhoea, dysentery, intermittent fevers, ophthalmopathy, scabies, ulcers and wounds.

Identification credit: Gurcharan Singh Photographed in Delhi.

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