Common name: Nash Jhaar • Nepali: नास झार Nash Jhaar
Botanical name: Hemiphragma heterophyllum Family: Scrophulariaceae (Dog flower family)
Nash Jhaar is a hairy creeping plant often found carpeting the ground in
forests and shrubberies of the Himalayas, from Uttarakhand to NE India and
SE China, at altitudes of 1800-3600 m. Flowers are small, solitary,
stalkless, pink in color, 8 mm across, with 5 spreading petals. Flowers
are not very noticeable, neither is the plant. However the plant becomes
distinctive in fruit, with its shining red berries, 8 mm across. The other
interesting thing about this plant is the leaves. As the species name
heterophyllum suggests, there are two types of leaves. Leaves on
the main stem occur in opposite pairs, stalkless, 0.5-2cm long, leaf
margin slightly toothed. Leaves on branches are crowded, needlelike,
sometimes linear-lanceshaped, 3-5 mm. The creeping stems grow up to 1-2 ft
long. Flowering: March-May.
Identification credit: Geetha Iyer
| Photographed in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. |
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