Common Name: Devils’s claw. Tamil Name: Puli-nakham
Devils’s claw is an annual of Central American origin, it grows to height of about 1.5 meters; often found on road-sides and fallow lands in Tamilnadu. The entire plant is sticky, glandular and hairy (white hairs are found on all parts of the plant). The simple leaves are arranged in an opposite manner, they are soft hairy and sticky on both surfaces; the leaf is slightly lobed and the margin is dentate. The leaves are shaped ovate and have a cordate base and an acute tip. The leaf stalk is green in color with patches of purple and measure around 12.5 cm; the leaf length measure around 19 cm. The flowers are seen in short racemes. The flower stalk is around 2 cm long. The flower is slightly fragrant and funnel shaped; petals are purple in color; inside the throat of the flower one can see dark yellow spots. The flower tube is white in color and measure around 4 cm. The calyx is green in color and has five segments; segments are elliptical in shape and measure around 1.6 cm each. The fruit is initially green in color. The mature fruits are black in color and have claw-like appendages. These claw-like structures get attached to grazing animals and thus the seeds are dispersed. Devils’s claw was seen vigorously growing and flowering in the month of May in Coimbatore district.
