Plant Name: Argemone Mexicana
Common name:
Marathi: Kardai
Hindi: Satyanashi, Bharband
English: Mexican Prickly Poppy
Identification guide
General
Prickly poppy is an erect, branched, annual to perennial plant with prickly stems and leaves, growing around 60cm tall.
Stems
Branched and extremely prickly and oozes yellow juice when damaged or cut.
Leaves
Thistle like, alternately arranged, oblong shape, multiple cut, spiny margins with grey-white veins
Flowers
Solitary, appears at the tip of the branches, showy yellow flowers
Fruits
Capsulated, prickly, egg-shaped
Habit / Habitat
Pricky, hairless and branching, annual herb
It occurs as a wasteland weed, grows on the road side, fallow and cultivable land, and river or stream banks.
Occurrence
- mexicana is native to tropical and sub-tropical America
Sample collected from: Kasatwadi, Jawhar
Edible parts
World wide use
Seeds
Used by tribal community in Jawhar
Stem and Seeds
Non edible parts
Toxicity: The seed oil of A.mexicana is reported to be toxic due to sanguinarine and dihydrosanguinarine alkaloids which are toxic in nature. The plant is toxic to animals and cattle.
Method of consumption
Jawhar tribal
Traditional Recipe
Oil derived from the seeds of A.mexicana is used very rarely and in minute quantity.
Other Recipe
Nutritional and medicinal information
Harvesting and preserving
The plant resents being transplanted and should be sown in situ
Propagation and Storage
Season of collection
Edible
Summer
Medicinal parts
Annually
How to grow it?
In wild, seeds are dispersed by wind, water, or birds.
Method of storage
Propagules and Edibles: Seeds are not stored for long duration.
Other uses
A semi-drying oil is obtained from the seed. It is used for lighting, making soap etc. It has been applied to wood in order to give protection from termites.
A medicinal fixed oil is obtained from the seed.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Spermatophyta
Sub-division: Angiospermae
Class: Dicotyledonae
Sub-class: Polypetalae
Series: Thalamiflorae
Order: Ranales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Argemone
Species: Mexicana
References
- http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/6878
- http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/eafrinet/weeds/key/weeds/Media/Html/Argemone_mexicana_%28Mexican_Prickly_Poppy%29.htm
- http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Mexican%20Prickly%20Poppy.html
- http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Argemone+mexicana