Common Name: Common tephrosa, Purple tephrosa. Tamilname: Kolinchi
Common tephrosia is native to India and is perhaps one of the most common plant to be found on road-sides and fallow lands in Tamilnadu. The plant grows to a height of about 3 feet. The plant has a woody stem and is slightly pubescent: but mostly glabrous. The plant has compound leaf: on the rachides 7-8 pairs of leaflets are seen. The leaflets have a very small petiole measuring around 1 mm. The leaflet (1.9-2 cm long) are ovate in shape; the base is cuneate and the tip is slightly notched. The plant has rich humus smell. The inflorescence is in the form of a short raceme; the flower stalk measure around 1 mm and the flower measure around 7-8 mm. The flower is pea shaped and purple in color. The calyx is very small and measure around 3 mm; five sepal teeth are seen. The fruit is in the form of a smooth beaked pod measuring 3 cm in length. The pod contains 6-7 brown colored seeds. Common tephrosia is deployed as a green manure plant in Tamilnadu. The plant is used in traditional Indian systems of medicine to treat hepatic diseases and also as an anti-inflammatory. IT is the larval host plant for Forget-me-not, Pale grass blue, and Lesser grass blue butterflies.
