IUCN Status
: Not Applicable
Author: Noopur Soni
Hello everyone. This is Noopur Soni, I'm a Junior Reasearch fellow at Kota University, Kota Rajasthan. I'm a botanist dedicated to exploring and documenting the rich floral diversity of Rajasthan, with a special focus on pteridophytes and wetland flora. As an environmental conservator and wildlife protector, I work towards habitat preservation and sustainable conservation strategies, ensuring the protection of Rajasthan’s unique biodiversity. Through my studies and fieldwork, I aim to contribute valuable insights into the flora of Rajasthan and promote awareness about its ecological significance.
- Naturally grown
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Chitrak is a herb that grows wild in India and has been used by rural and tribal people for hundreds of years as a traditional system of medicine. Chitrak is native to SE Asia. It is a much branched, evergreen shrub that reaches about 6 feet in nature. Dark green leaves are ovate to 6 inches long by half as wide. They are fast growing plants, but their size is easily controlled by pot size and pruning. The flowers are white in showy dense racemes and will flower all year long. Individual flowers are up to ½ inch (a bit more than 1 cm) across. Chitrak needs full sun to partial shade with intermediate to warm temperatures. After flowering, the plants should be cut back to keep them growing vigorously. The fruits are like a small cocklebur with glue on the soft spines and they will stick to anything. The root and root bark and seeds are used medicinally as a stimulant, caustic, digestion, antiseptic, anti-parasitic. Chitrak is propagated by cuttings, division of older plants or by seed.
Source: iNat, FOI
