Botanical Name Plant's Common Name Plant Family   

   MH242 : Celosia argentea L.

Plant Category : Herbs

Melghat's Flora's Serial No. : 438

Synonym : Amaranthus cristatus Noronha; Amaranthus huttonii H.J.Veitch; Amaranthus purpureus Nieuwl.; Amaranthus pyramidalis Noronha; Celosia aurea T.Moore; Celosia castrensis L.; Celosia cernua Roxb. nom. illeg.; Celosia coccinea L.; Celosia comosa Retz.; Celosia cristata L.; Celosia debilis S.Moore; Celosia huttonii Mast.; Celosia japonica Houtt.; Celosia japonica Mart.; Celosia linearis Sweet ex Hook.f. nom. inval.; Celosia margaritacea L.; Celosia marylandica Retz.; Celosia pallida Salisb.; Celosia plumosa (Voss) Burv.; Celosia purpurea J.St.-Hil.; Celosia purpurea A.St.-Hil. ex Steud.; Celosia pyramidalis Burm.f.; Celosia splendens Schumach. & Thonn.; Celosia swinhoei Hemsl.; Chamissoa margaritacea (L.) Schouw;

Plant Common Name : Karadu, Kombada, K-Silgi Zara, Saigatya, cockscomb, Chinese wool flower, feathery amaranth

Plant Family : Amaranthaceae

Description : Annual erect herbs, simple or with many ascending branches. Leaves 2-15 x 0.1-3.2 cm, lanceolate-oblong to narrowly linear, acute to obtuse, shortly mucronate with the excurrent midrib, glabrous; lamina of the leaves from the centre of the main stem tapering below into an indistinctly demarcated, slender petiole, to 2 cm long; upper and branch leaves smaller, markedly reducing. Inflorescence a dense many-flowered spike, 2.5-20 x 1.5-2.2 cm, white to pink, terminal on the stem and branches, peduncle up to c. 20 cm long; bracts and bracteoles lanceolate or the lower deltoid, 3-5 mm, hyaline, more or less aristate with the excurrent midrib, persistent. Perianth segments 6-10 mm, narrowly elliptic-oblong, acute to rather blunt, shortly mucronate, margins hyaline. Filaments very delicate, free part subequalling or exceeding the staminal sheath, sinuses rounded with very minute intermediate teeth; anthers and filaments creamy to magenta. Ovary 4-8-ovulate, style filiform, 5-7 mm long; stigmas 2-3, very short. Capsule 3-4 mm, ovoid to globose; seeds c. 1.25-1.5 mm, lenticular, black, shining, very finely reticulate.

Plant Location in Melghat : -

Medicinal Use / Activity : Urinal problems, Sexual power increases; The flowers and seed are astringent, haemostatic, ophthalmic, parasiticide and poultice. They are used in the treatment of bloody stool, haemorrhoid bleeding, uterine bleeding, Leucorrhoea, dysentery and Diarrhea. The seed is hypotensive and ophthalmic. It also has an anti-bacterial action, inhibiting the growth of Pseudomonas. It is used in the treatment of Diarrhea, bloodshot eyes, blurring of vision, cataracts and hypertension, but should not be used by people with glaucoma because it dilates the pupils. The seeds are widely used in India for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Plant's Phytochemicals : COMPOUNDS: phytic acid; oxalic acid; celosian; Celogentins A; Celogentins B; Celogentins C; moroidin; citrusin C;

ACTIVE COMPOUNDS (1):

Oxalic acid;

Plant's Current Status : Common

Plant's Cross Database Reference : 259142

Reference : Dhore M. A. (1984) The flora of melghat tiger reserve - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celosia_argentea - http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Celosia+argentea - https://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/33021 - http://www.public.asu.edu/~camartin/plants/Plant%20html%20files/celosiaargentea.html

Reference : ~ J. Lenin Bapuji and S. Venkat Ratnam; "Traditional Uses of Some Medicinal Plants by tribals of Gangaraju Madugula Mandal of Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh"; Ethnobotanical Leaflets (2009); 13: 388-98 PMID :

~ Dhore MA and Joshi PA; "Flora of Melghat Tiger Reserve"; Directorate, Project Tiger, Melghat (1988); PMID :

~ Patil, HM and Bhaskar, VV; "Medicinal uses of plnats by tribal medicine men of Nandurbar district in Maharashtra"; Natural Product Radiance (2006); 5(2): 125-130 PMID :

Kingdom : Plantae - Plants
Phylum : Tracheophyta
Subkingdom : Tracheobionta - Vascular plants
Superdivision : Spermatophyta - Seed plants
Division : Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class : Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Subclass : Caryophyllidae
Order : Caryophyllales
Family : Amaranthaceae - Amaranth family
Genus : Celosia L. - cock's comb
Species : Celosia argentia L.

Celosia argentia L.