''Pogostemon purpurascens'' is a small

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

found in the Western Ghats in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. It is in the mint family,

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...

Description

''Pogostemon purpurascens'' is an erect branched herb with a 20 cm tall, hairy stem. The leaves are elliptic, opposite with serrated margins. It bears tiny whitish flowers which blooms during the months of January and February.

Uses

It is used as an anti-haemorrhagic (sometimes as a

styptic An antihemorrhagic () agent is a substance that promotes hemostasis (a process which stops bleeding). It may also be known as a hemostatic (also spelled haemostatic) agent. Antihemorrhagic agents used in medicine have various mechanisms of action: ...

) and antidote to stimulate scorpion stings and snake bites. It is also used to clean wounds. In

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

, leaves and flowers are used in the preparation of a local hair-care lotion.

References

* KIRTIKAR, K.R., BASU, B.D and AN, I.C.S; 1975; Indian Medicinal Plants; MIS PERIODICAL EXPERTS {{Taxonbar, from=Q15353683 purpurascens Plants described in 1850 Endemic flora of the Western Ghats Taxa named by Nicol Alexander Dalzell