Andrographis paniculatta / CHUAN XIN LIAN / Chiretta Herb

Botanical Name – Andrographis paniculatta

Chinese Name – Chuan Xin Lian

English Name – Chiretta

Andrographis is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Acanthaceae. It is used in Siddha and Ayurvedic medicine. The leaves are scentless. The shrub’s small flowers are tubular-shaped and white with pale violet streaks. The seeds are known to drop quickly if not harvested. The whole plant has a bitter taste due to the pungent diterpenoid lactones.

It is native to India and Sri Lanka, but is distributed in other tropical Asian countries, often in isolated patches. It can be found in a variety of habitats, such as plains, hillsides, coastlines, and disturbed and cultivated areas such as roadsides, farms, and wastelands.It  grows to a height of 30–110 cm.