Annual stemless herb, up to 12 cm tall. Leaves few to many in rosettes, erect to decumbent; lamina 5-10 cm long, thin, elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate to ovate, sparsely irregularly denticulate, teeth obtuse, apices obtuse, when young thinly villose, later on glabrous or sparsely hairy, 5-7 nerved, narrowed below into short distinct petiole; petioles 2-3 cm long, at the base broadly dilated, vaginate. Scape 6-15 cm long, arched. Spikes nearly equalling the peduncle, narrow, dense above, below with lax, distant flowers; bracts shorter than the calyx, concave, triangular ovate, apices sometimes slightly membranous; sepals 2 mm long, slightly concave, anterior ones narrow obovate, elliptic to broad elliptic, middle ones narrow with distinct grooves; corolla tube equal to the calyx, lobes small, elliptic to ovate, 1/2 mm to little longer, obtuse to truncate-obtuse, margins incised. Anthers little exserted. Capsule conically attenuated, nearly twice as long as the calyx. Seeds 5, 1.5 mm long, purplish brown, compressed.

Laxative (seed mucilage); antitussive (seeds)

Flora of Pakistan
Plants For A Future

Useful for treating edema, coughs, dysuria and dribbling urination with burning, hematuria, gonorrhea, diarrhea, dysentery, inflammation of the eyes, cataracts, and blurred vision (dried ripe seeds).

Jing-Nuan Wu. An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica. P: 496, Oxford University Press, Inc.2005.