Common Name: Bharangee, Blue fountain bush. Tamil Name: Sirutekku, Bharangee
Bharangee is a shrub sized plant much valued for its medicinal properties. Occasionally seen on rocky slopes of Nilgiri Ghat road, but a rare plant to encounter. It is much more common in Western Ghat areas of Maharashtra. The plant grows to a height of about 3 meters. The leaves are arranged in an opposite manner and have a whorled arrangement. The young branches are square in cross section. The leaves have a dentate margin; they are elliptic in shape with an cuneate base and an acute apex. The leaves are large and can measure to more than 10 cm each. The inflorescence is in the form of a terminal panicled cyme – assumes a pyramidal shape. The flowers are blue-white in color and are two lipped. The fruit is in the form of a drupe, which when ripe turns purple in color. The wild populations of Bharangee are severely exploited for their medicinal properties and are collected in an unsustainable manner from the wild. It is an important ingredient in many popular Ayurvedic medicinal preparations.
