''Sphaeranthus indicus'', the East Indian globe thistle, is a flowering plant of the genus ''

Sphaeranthus ''Sphaeranthus'' is a genus of Asian, African, and Australian plants in the tribe Inuleae within the family Asteraceae. ; Species ; formerly included several species now in other genera: of '' Athroisma Pterocaulon ''Pterocaulon'' is a genus ...

''. It is distributed from

Northern Australia The unofficial geographic term Northern Australia includes those parts of Queensland and Western Australia north of latitude 26° and all of the Northern Territory. Those local government areas of Western Australia and Queensland that lie p ...

throughout

Indomalaya The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Indi ...

. The plant has been studied for its potential health-promoting properties, primarily as an anti-inflammatory. ''Sphaeranthus indicus'' Linn. (Asteraceae) is widely used in the ''

Ayurvedic Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

'' system of medicine in various conditions like epilepsy, mental illness, hemicrania, jaundice, hepatopathy, diabetes, leprosy, fever, pectoralgia, cough, gastropathy, hernia, hemorrhoids, helminthiasis, dyspepsia and skin diseases. In different parts of Its range ''Sphaeranthus indicus'' is known by different common names.

References

Inuleae Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Inuleae-stub