Distribution and Habitat: Throughout India

Botany: A slender herbaceous creeping perennial with rooted nodes and long internodes

• Stem: Long, prostrate coming off from the leaf axils of a vertical root stock, filiform, often reddish.
• Leaves: 1.3-6.3 cm diameter, glabrous on both sides, orbicular- reniform, crenate- dentate, simple with elongate petioles and sheathing leaf bases, cordate and often lobed
• Flowers: Red, pink or white, almost sessile, 3-4 in fascicled umbels; peduncles pubescent or glabrous, bracts ovate, acute, concave, 2 beneath each umbel. Petals minute, pink, ovate, acute.
• Fruits: 4mm long, oblong, dull brown, often crowned by persistent petals, laterally compressed with two mericarps having 7-9 sub-similar ridges.

Properties: The plant is bitter, acrid, cooling, soporific, cardiotonic, nervine tonic, stomachic, carminative, antileprotic, diuretic and febrifuge.

Chemical constituent: Asiaticoside, medacassoside, brahmoside, brahminoside, alkaloid-hydrocotylin, vellarine, Asiatic acid, centic acid, centellic acid and centoic acid, intocentoic acid, indocentelloside and centellose   

Uses: It is used in skin disease, nerve disease, cardiac debility, epilepsy, hoarseness, asthma, bronchitis, high cough, amentia, abdominal disorders, leprosy, strangury and fever

Formulations: Brahmi ark, diabel, Nardyl tablets, Geriforte tablets.

Agro-technology

Soil: Grown on variety of soil but prefers moist soil.

Propagation: Seeds or stolons

Planting:  One-node stem cuttings can be planted at 45 x 45 cm and irrigated. Planting season is July but can be done in February-March with assured irrigation.

Harvesting:  The leaves are harvested and dried in shade.