Botanical name : Gloriossa superba Linn.
Family : Liliaceae
SANSKRIT SYNONYMS
Langali, Sakrapuspika, Agnishikha
AYURVEDIC PROPERTIES
Rasa : Katu, Tikta
Guna : Guru, Snigdha
Virya : Ushna
Vipaka : Katu
PLANT NAME IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
English : Climbing lily, Malabar glory lily
Hindi : Kalihari, Kaliyari, Languli
Malayalam : Menthoni, Mentoni, Kanthal
Distribution – Throughout India growing wild in moist forests
PLANT DESCRIPTION
A soft, perennial tendril climber with underground white cylindrical rhyzome. Leaves simple, subsessile, alternate, lanceolate, with acuminate tips, extended to tendrils. Flowers handsome, solitary, first yellow colored then changes to scarlet red. Fruits oblong capsules, with many small round seeds.
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Plant pacifies vitiated kapha, indigestion, fever, arthritis, obstructed labor, cardio-myopathy, skin diseases, in higher dose or without purification, it is highly poisonous.
Useful part : Rhizome.