Distribution and habitat: Erect, much branched, softly hairy, annual herbs, 30-75 cm high; stems and branches usually purplish, sub quadrangular, clothed with soft spreading hairs. Found throughout India.

Botany: 

• Leaves : Elliptic- oblong, entire or serrate, pubescent, minutely gland dotted 2.5-5 by 1.6-3.2 cm; petioles 1.3-2.5 cm long, slender, hairy.
• Flowers: Purplish or crimson, in close whorled racemes. Calyx 3-4 mm long in flower, pubescent, reaching 5 mm long in fruits; upper lip broadly obovate or sub orbicular, reflexed, very shortly apiculate; lower lip longer than the upper. Corolla 4 mm long, purplish; upper lips pubescent on the back. Stamens exerted; filaments slender, the upper pair with a small bearded appendage at the base. Nut lets subglobse or broadly ellipsoid, slightly compressed, pale brown or reddish.

Chemical constituents: 

• Roots- β-sitosterol and three triterpenes
• Plant-     Ascorbic acid, carotene, alkaloids, glycosides, saponins and tannins
• Leaves- Bornyl acetate, cadinene, camphene, camphor, carvacrol, β-caryophyllene, 1,8-cineole, decyl aldehyde,  eugenol, eugenol methyl ether, humelene, limonene, methyl chavicol, nerol, α & β-pinenes and luteolin
• Seed oil - Sitosterol and long chain fatty acids

Uses:

• Whole plant is used in cardiopathy, blood disorders, leucoderma, gastropathy in children, skin diseases.
• Seed is used for disorders of genitourinary system.
• Leaves are used for curing gastric disorders in children 
• Fresh root is used in stings of wasps, bees, bites of worms and leeches.

Formulations: Cough syrup

Agro technology 

Soil and Climate: It comes up in a wide variety of soil, though moderately fertile, well-drained loamy or sandy loam soils are considered ideal for cultivation. It prefers fairly to high rainfall areas with humid condition.

Propagation: Seed. Seeds are sown in a nursery bed and transplanted at 4-6 leaf stage (6-7 weeks). Seed viability is for 18 months.

Manuring: Application of 20-25 kg of N and 10-15 kg of P per hectare one month after planting.

Harvesting: The first harvesting takes about 90-100 days for direct sown and 75-90 days for transplanted crops. Subsequent harvests are taken at 50-60 days intervals.