• Family : Gentianaceae
  (Gentian Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : BHUIN NEEM FAMILY
• Family (as per The APG System III) : Gentianaceae
• Synonym(s) : Ophelia paniculata (Wall.) D.Don; Ophelia wallichii G.Don; Swertia griffithii C.B.Clarke
• Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Swertia paniculata
• Common name : Panicled Swertia
• Vernacular name : Charaita (Hindi); Kiratatikta (Sanskrit); Chiraito, Tite (Nepali)
• Habit : Herb
• Habitat : Scrub slopes, forests; 2800-3300 m
• Comments / notes : Decoction of the plant is used as tonic. Plant is also used as substitute for Chirayita in the treatment of malaria and other fever.
• Key identification features : Annuals 80-120 cm tall. Roots yellow, fibrous. Stems erect, 1.5-4 mm in diam., striate, branched. Basal leaves withered at anthesis. Stem leaves subsessile, lanceolate, 2-5.5 cm × 4-14 mm, abaxially puberulent, adaxially sometimes glabrous, base obtuse, margin ciliolate, apex acuminate; veins 1-3, prominent. Inflorescences panicles of cymes, many flowered, spreading, to 70 cm. Pedicel erect, 0.6-1.5 cm, terete, striate. Flower 5merous. Calyx tube 1-1.5 mm; lobes ovate-lanceolate, 6-10 × 2-5 mm, slightly unequal, papillate, margin ciliolate, apex acuminate; veins 1-3, indistinct. Corolla pale yellow-green, with 2 blackish purple spots above each nectary, tube 1-1.5 mm; lobes ovate, 6-8 mm, apex acute. Nectaries 1 per corolla lobe, horseshoe-shaped, naked. Filaments 4-5 mm, basally much enlarged but free; anthers purple, ellipsoid, 1-1.5 mm. Style 2.5-3.5 mm, slender; stigma lobes capitate. Capsules ovoid, 8-10 mm. Seeds pale yellow, ellipsoid; seed coat smooth.
• Flower, Fruit : August-September
• Distribution :
  • Uttarakhand : Dehradun district
• Native : India, East Himalaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, West Himalaya
• Exotic/Native : Native
• Literature : Nair, N. G (1977).Flora of Bashahr Himalayas. International Bioscience Publishers: 185
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Navendu Page, Deepak Kumar (2020). Pan India Bouquets. http://flora-peninsula-indica.ces.iisc.ac.in/pan/plants.php?name=Swertia paniculata. Downloaded on 2 October 2023.

Field Image(s)