Hairy Osbeckia is a hairy shrub, up to 2.5 m tall;
branches covered with spreading bulb based fuscous hairs. Flowers are
about 2-2.5 cm across, purple or white, 4-merous in close corymbs or
cymes; bracts ovate, hairy on back. Calyx is about 1 cm long; sepals
subulate, star-shaped hairy. Petals are about 1 cm long, obovate; ovary
star-shaped hairy. Leaves are simple, opposite, decussate; leaf-stalk
about 5-10 mm long; blade about 7.5-11 x 2.3-3.4 cm, lanceshaped,
somewhat heart-shaped at base, pointed to tapering at tip, entire,
hairy on both surfaces with prostrate hairs; secondary nerves 5-7
pairs. Capsules are about 1.2 cm long, ovoid, narrowed to a cylindrical
neck; neck of the fruit equaling or exceeding the ovary, hairless.
Hairy Osbeckia is found in China, SE-Tibet, NE India (Assam, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Sikkim), Myanmar, Bhutan, Vietnam, at altitudes up to
1520-2290 m. Flowering: July-October.
Medicinal uses: Decoction of root is used for
promoting appetite or assisting digestion. Decoction of dry leaves is
used for toothache.
Identification credit: Rajdeo Singh
Photographed in Mawsynram, Meghalaya.
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The flower labeled Hairy Osbeckia is ...