CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom Plant Kingdom
Division Spermatophyta
Subdivision Angiospermae
Class Dicotyledonae
Subclass Gamopetalae
Order Polemoniales
Family Solanaceae
Genus Withania
Species Somnifera
Subdivision Angiospermae
Class Dicotyledonae
Subclass Gamopetalae
Order Polemoniales
Family Solanaceae
Genus Withania
Species Somnifera
Withania somnifera (Linn.) Dunal commonly Known as "Ashwagandha" belongs to the family Solanaceae. Family Solanaceae has got 1250 species widely distributed in the warmer parts of whole world. The Genus Withania is reported to have 23 species and out of which i.e. Withania somifera (Linn.) Dunal and Withania coagulans Dunal are of high medicinal value.
Geographical distribution:
Withania somnifera (Linn.) Dunal is cosmopolition and grows through out the drier parts and sub-tropical India. It is widely distributed in North-Western India, Bombay, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab plains extending to the mountain regions of Punjab, Himanchal Pradesh and Jammu, ascending to a height of 1500 meter.
The wild growth of this species has also been reported form Pakistan, Afghanistan, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Spain, Canary, Island, Eastern Africa Congo, Madagascar and South Africa
As mentioned earlier Withania somnifera has a very wide geographical range. In India its range extends from 230 N to 330 N and extending from 180m to 1500m alt (Monograph of Ashwagandha)
Description: A small or middle- sized, branched, erect, unarmed under shrub, a perchnial herb.
Height : 0.3 - 1.5 meter
Stem and branches -
The stem is green and erect, covered with minute star shaped hair. Branche terete, usually clothed with stellate hoary tomentum.
Leaves :
Simple, short petioled, alternate, or in sub opposite pairs at a node, exstipulate, broadly ovate , obovate or oblong entire, subacute or obtuse, grey pubescent, 5 to 10 cms. long little less - 2.5 to 7 cms. in breadth , the base often attenuated into the petiole and with about six pairs of stout and conspicuous main nerves.
Petiole: 0.6 to about 1.2 cm long.
Flowers: Small, greenish or lurid yellow, sessile or shortly pedicelled.
The pedicels: Less than or about 5 mm in length - axillary solitary or in crowded fascicles of two to five.
Calyx: Gamosepalous, campanulate, 5 mm. long in flower, five or six lobed , the segments linear acute from a broad base or subulate. It is accrescent increasing up to 18 mm., becoming inflated and nearly globose and encloses the fruit: ultimately the entire calyx gets membranous and withers.
Corolla: Small, but longer than the calyx, 0.6 to 1.2 cms, gamopetalous, campanulate, greenish-yellow, three to six lobed to more than half way down lobes short, lanceolate acute and valvate.
Stamens: Five, included , inserted on the tube of the corolla near its base.
Filaments: Linear , or subulate after dilated at the base and together forming a ring around the pistil.
Anthers: Yellow, broadly elliptic oblong (in level with the stigma) and dehiscing longitudinally.
Pistil: Bicarpellary, syncarpous.
Ovary: Ovate - glabose, glabrous, surrounded at the base by a thin glandular annular disc, bilocular or falsely four chambered, many ovuled with linear filiform or subulate style and a bifid or shortly two-lobed stigma.
Fruit: A small smooth globose, thin walled two chambered berry the size of pea [0.6 to 0.8 cms in diameter] green when unripe while brick reddish when ripe and enclosed within the enlarged calyx.
Seeds: Small about 2 to 2.5 mm. in diameter, discoid or reniform with smooth or pitted testa and a peripheric embryo.
Description of the root: The root system consists of a stout main root 20 to 30 cm. long with a few (2 to 3) lateral roots of slightly smaller size. The roots are some what tuberous and attain a diameter of 1 to 2 or 2.5 cm.
They are occasionally branched. Their distal ends are taperaing and slightly woody. The outer surface of the tuberous root is yellowish brown in colour and almost smooth except for a few very shallow short longitudinal fissures.
The cut end of a root shows an outer narrow brown ring enclosing a soft white starchv tissue. At the centre is the wide cyllinder of wood which is not very hard except for the peripheral part and has a light cream colour. The drug as sold in the bazar is in the form of simple dry slightly woody cut pieces of root 3 to 6 cms. in length. The diameter of the pieces vary from 4 to 10mm. The cut pieces are of light brown or slightly yellowish brown colour. The surface of the thin roots is almost smooth but it appears shrunken with closely arranged very shallow irregular longitudinal ridges. Cut ends of rootlets are also noticeable in the pieces. The cut ends of these pieces are white in colour.
Geographical distribution:
Withania somnifera (Linn.) Dunal is cosmopolition and grows through out the drier parts and sub-tropical India. It is widely distributed in North-Western India, Bombay, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab plains extending to the mountain regions of Punjab, Himanchal Pradesh and Jammu, ascending to a height of 1500 meter.
The wild growth of this species has also been reported form Pakistan, Afghanistan, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Spain, Canary, Island, Eastern Africa Congo, Madagascar and South Africa
As mentioned earlier Withania somnifera has a very wide geographical range. In India its range extends from 230 N to 330 N and extending from 180m to 1500m alt (Monograph of Ashwagandha)
Description: A small or middle- sized, branched, erect, unarmed under shrub, a perchnial herb.
Height : 0.3 - 1.5 meter
Stem and branches -
The stem is green and erect, covered with minute star shaped hair. Branche terete, usually clothed with stellate hoary tomentum.
Leaves :
Simple, short petioled, alternate, or in sub opposite pairs at a node, exstipulate, broadly ovate , obovate or oblong entire, subacute or obtuse, grey pubescent, 5 to 10 cms. long little less - 2.5 to 7 cms. in breadth , the base often attenuated into the petiole and with about six pairs of stout and conspicuous main nerves.
Petiole: 0.6 to about 1.2 cm long.
Flowers: Small, greenish or lurid yellow, sessile or shortly pedicelled.
The pedicels: Less than or about 5 mm in length - axillary solitary or in crowded fascicles of two to five.
Calyx: Gamosepalous, campanulate, 5 mm. long in flower, five or six lobed , the segments linear acute from a broad base or subulate. It is accrescent increasing up to 18 mm., becoming inflated and nearly globose and encloses the fruit: ultimately the entire calyx gets membranous and withers.
Corolla: Small, but longer than the calyx, 0.6 to 1.2 cms, gamopetalous, campanulate, greenish-yellow, three to six lobed to more than half way down lobes short, lanceolate acute and valvate.
Stamens: Five, included , inserted on the tube of the corolla near its base.
Filaments: Linear , or subulate after dilated at the base and together forming a ring around the pistil.
Anthers: Yellow, broadly elliptic oblong (in level with the stigma) and dehiscing longitudinally.
Pistil: Bicarpellary, syncarpous.
Ovary: Ovate - glabose, glabrous, surrounded at the base by a thin glandular annular disc, bilocular or falsely four chambered, many ovuled with linear filiform or subulate style and a bifid or shortly two-lobed stigma.
Fruit: A small smooth globose, thin walled two chambered berry the size of pea [0.6 to 0.8 cms in diameter] green when unripe while brick reddish when ripe and enclosed within the enlarged calyx.
Seeds: Small about 2 to 2.5 mm. in diameter, discoid or reniform with smooth or pitted testa and a peripheric embryo.
Description of the root: The root system consists of a stout main root 20 to 30 cm. long with a few (2 to 3) lateral roots of slightly smaller size. The roots are some what tuberous and attain a diameter of 1 to 2 or 2.5 cm.
They are occasionally branched. Their distal ends are taperaing and slightly woody. The outer surface of the tuberous root is yellowish brown in colour and almost smooth except for a few very shallow short longitudinal fissures.
The cut end of a root shows an outer narrow brown ring enclosing a soft white starchv tissue. At the centre is the wide cyllinder of wood which is not very hard except for the peripheral part and has a light cream colour. The drug as sold in the bazar is in the form of simple dry slightly woody cut pieces of root 3 to 6 cms. in length. The diameter of the pieces vary from 4 to 10mm. The cut pieces are of light brown or slightly yellowish brown colour. The surface of the thin roots is almost smooth but it appears shrunken with closely arranged very shallow irregular longitudinal ridges. Cut ends of rootlets are also noticeable in the pieces. The cut ends of these pieces are white in colour.
Yes your Blog is Much informative and well explained but I need more explanation of benefits of vegetable Rennet(Paneer Dodi).
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