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Rubia manjith

Common name:	Indian Madder	Family:	Rubiaceae
Author:	Roxb. ex Fleming.	Botanical references:	51
Synonyms:	Rubia cordifolia (auct non L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - Pakistan to S.E. Tibet.
Habitat:	Growing on shrubs, 1200 - 2700 metres[51].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Bengal Madder [H], Ch'Ien [E], Ch'Ien Ts'Ao [E], Hsueh Chien Ch'Ou [E], Indian Madder [H], Jan Fei Ts'Ao [E], Manjistha [E], Sou [E], Ti Hsueh [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rubiales. Madder family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China India Lesotho Nepal

Physical Characteristics

Perennial Climber. . The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Fruit Leaves.

The following uses have been applied to R. cordifolia but might also apply here.

Leaves - cooked. They are used as a side dish with rice[61, 177]. Much esteemed as a lab-lab by the Javanese[46].
Fruit - raw[179].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Alterative Anodyne Antiphlogistic Antitussive Astringent Diuretic Emmenagogue Expectorant Styptic Tonic Vulnerary.

The following notes are for the related R. cordifolia. They quite possibly also belong here.

The roots are alterative, anodyne, antiphlogistic, antitussive, astringent, diuretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, styptic, tonic and vulnerary[147, 176, 178, 218, 240]. They are used to lower the blood pressure[176]. The roots are used internally in the treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding, internal and external haemorrhage, bronchitis, rheumatism, stones in the kidney, bladder and gall, dysentery etc[238]. The roots are harvested in the autumn from plants that are at least 3 years old. They are peeled and then dried[238].
The stems are used in Tibetan medicine, where they are considered to have a bitter taste and a cooling potency[241]. Febrifuge, they are used in the treatment of blood disorders and spreading fever of kidneys and intestines[241].

Other Uses

Dye.

A valuable red dye is obtained from the root and stems[51].

Cultivation details

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors at least in the milder parts of the country. It is possible that many if not all the useful attributes of R. cordifolia also belong here since there is some confusion over the names. All the attributes of both species are listed here and it is noted where they have been applied to R. cordifolia rather than this species. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Prefers a loose moist leafy soil in some shade[200]. Tolerates dry soils but quickly becomes scorched when growing in full sun[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed can be very slow to germinate[200]. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for the first year. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.
Division in spring or at any time in the growing season if the divisions are kept well watered until established[200]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Rubia cordifolia (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Rubiaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[51] Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press 1984
A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[241] Tsarong. Tsewang. J. Tibetan Medicinal Plants Tibetan Medical Publications, India 1994 ISBN 81-900489-0-2
A nice little pocket guide to the subject with photographs of 95 species and brief comments on their uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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