The plant is an erect annual. The stems are robust, branching, cylindrical below and 4-angled upwards, containing a large pith; the leaves are broadly lanceolate, 5-nerved and sub-sessile; the flowers occur in large panicles, are lurid greenish yellow, tinged with purple; the capsules are egg-shaped, many-sided, sharp-pointed; the seeds are smooth and many- angled.

Bitter tonic, stomachic, febrifuge, anthelmintic, appetizer, laxative, alterative, antidiarrhoeic, antiperiodic.

Herb Information
Plants for a Future

Beta-amyrin, gentianine, gentiopicrin, lupeol, mangiferin, oleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, swerchirin, swertianin, tannin (plant)

As tonic to heart, liver and eyes, resolvent, drying, astringent, liquifying, balgham, cough, scanty urine, melancholia, dropsy, sciatia, skin diseases. An excellent drug for intermittent fevers, skin diseases, intestinal worms, bronchial asthma, burning of the body, regulating the bowels.