Crotalaria juncea
Genus: Crotalaria
Botanical name: Crotalaria juncea
PLANT NAME IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
Sanskrit:
Hindi:
English: Sunn hemp, Indian hemp, Madras hem
Malayalam: Chanak, Kattarake
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Sunn hemp is a short-day, erect shrubby annual, generally 1 to 4 m in height. Stems up to 2 cm in diameter, cylindrical and ribbed. Leaves simple, spirally arranged along the stem, oblong-lanceolate, 4-13 cm x 0.5-3 cm, pilose; petiole up to 0.5 cm. Strong taproot, well developed lateral roots. Much branched and lobed nodules, up to 2.5 cm in length. Inflorescence a terminal open raceme to 25 cm in length with deep-yellow flowers, sepals 5, hairy; standard erect, sub orbicular, ca. 2.5 cm in diameter. Flowering is indeterminate. Pod cylindrical, 3-6 cm x 1-2 cm, tomentose, light brown, containing ca. 6 seeds. Seeds heart-shaped, with narrow end strongly in-curved, up to 6 mm long, dark brown to black.
The roots, seeds and leaves of Sunn hemp is used for anemia, hair grow, and purify the blood.