01.
A Bit of Botany
a bit of botanical information about ashwagandha
description
Ashwagandha is a short evergreen shrub of the Solanaceae (Nightshade) family
that grows 13-30 inches tall.
The branches extend radially from a central
stem. The flowers are small and green and hermaphroditic. Almost the whole
plant is covered with short, fine, silver-grey, branched hairs. The stems
are brownish and prostrate to erect, sometimes leafless below. The leaves
are alternate (opposite on flowering shoots), simple, margins entire to
slightly wavy, broadly ovate, obovate or oblong. The ripe fruit is
orange-red; the fruit is a hairless spherical berry.
In southern Africa the flowering time is mostly from October to June, while the fruiting time is
mostly from October to July.
common names
& nomenclature
Its Hindu name means "horse smell," because the herb smells like a sweaty
horse. The species name somnifera means "sleep-inducing" in Latin.
Also known as:
amukran-kizhangu, asagandha, asana, asgandh, asundha, asvagandhi, fatarfoda, hirimaddina-gadday, hirre-gadday, penneroo-gadda, pevette, sogade-beru, winter cherry, ashgandh, achuvagandi, amikkira-gadday, amukulang-kalang, amukkira-kilzhangu, indian ginseng, bitterappelliefie, geneesblaarbossie, koorshout, bofepha, ubuvuma, ubuvimbha, and ashwagandha
