Saturday, December 23, 2017

හීන් බිං කොහොඹ[Heen Bin Kohomba] (Andrographis paniculata)

Very rare indigenous herb considered as a Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) in the 2012 Red list. However Jayasinghe H.D. has reported it in a home garden at Hammaliya of the Kurunegala district in 2013-14. Pictures posted with this post were observed at a roadside embankment at Dondra (දෙවිනුවර/දෙවුන්දර) of Matara district in mid of December 2017 with flowers. Several plants were seen in the vicinity. As per Dasanayaka M.D. & Clayton W.D. two varieties of this herb occurs in Sri Lanka. Variety paniculata grows in semi-shade in waste places by roadsides in the moist and dry lowlands and moist mid country, while endemic variety glandulosa is found in sub-montane forests. Flowering from January to April. Whole plant medicinal. 

References:
  • Dasanayaka M.D. & Clayton W.D., 1998, A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon, Volume XII
  • The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Weerakoon, D.K. & S. Wijesundara Eds.,Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 99-113 pp
  • Jayasinghe H.D., 2015 Notes on observations of some threatened flowering plants of Sri Lanka including two “Extinct” species.Himesh Dilruwan Jayasinghe, NeBIO I An international journal of environment and biodiversity Vol. 6, No. 2, June 2015, 1 - 8

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