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Bara Gokhru
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Bara Gokhru
ative Photo: Pravin Kawale
Common name: Large Caltrops, crow thorn, elephant caltrop • Gujarati: કડવા ગોખરુ kadva gokharu, મોટા ગોખરુ mota gokharu, ઉભા ગોખરુ ubha gokharu • Hindi: बडा गोखुरू bada gokhuru, दक्षिणी गोखरु dakshini gokharu, फ़रीद बूटी farid buti, कडवा गोखरू kadva gokharu, पहाड़ी गोखरु Pahadi gokhru • Kachchhi: કડુઆ ગોખરૂ kadua gokharu, ઉભેરા ગોખરૂ ubhera gokharu • Kannada: ಆನೆನೆಗ್ಗಿಲು aane-neggilu, ದೊಡ್ಡನೆಗ್ಗಿಲು doddaneggilu • Malayalam: കാക്കമുല്ല kakkamulla • Marathi: गोखरू gokharu, हत्तीचराटे hatticharate, माळवी गोखरू malavi gokharu, मोठा गोखरू motha gokharu • Odia: ଗୋକ୍ଷୁର gokshura • Persian: خسك khasak • Rajasthani: बडा गोखुरू bada gokhuru • Sanskrit: बृहत् गोक्षुर brihat gokshura, तिक्त गोक्षुर tikta gokshura • Tamil: ஆனைநெருஞ்சி anai-nerunci, காக்காய்முள் kakkay-mul, பெருநெருஞ்சி peru-nerunci • Telugu: ఏనుగు పల్లేరు enugu palleru, పల్లేరు palleru • Tulu: ಆನೆನೇಗಿಲ್ aanenegilu Source: Names of Plants in India
Botanical name: Pedalium murex     Family: Pedaliaceae (sesame family)
Large Caltrops is a shrubby, stiff-stemmed herb, native to India, grown for reputed medicinal and other uses. It is diffuse annual, much branched, spreading, succulent, glandular, up to 60 cm tall. Roots similar to turmeric in colour. Leaves simple, opposite, ovate or oblong-obovate, 1-4.5 cm long, irregularly and coarsely crenate-serrate. Yellow flowers 1.5-2 cm across, stalk 1-2 mm long, increasing up to 4 mm in fruit. Sepals 2 mm long; teeth linear, scaly outside, persistent. Petals fused into a broad tube, 1-3 cm long; lobes obtuse. Stamens 0.5-1 cm long; anthers kidney shaped. The four angled seed is with 5 extremely sharp spines. It is an important famine food - leaves eaten as vegetable.
Medicinal uses: Leaves are antibilious. Seeds are demulcant, diuretic, tonic, muscilaginous and aphrodesiac. Used in male impotence, gonorrhoea, and incontinence.
Identification credit: Pravin Kawale Photographed in Alibag, Maharashtra.
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