7. Caltha palustris, Linn.

The medicinal plant Caltha palustris is a member of the Ranunculaceae (buttercup) family. This page includes its habitat, botanical descption, medicinal uses (eg., Ayurveda), chemical constituents and history of use in modern and ancient India.

Index in Flora of British India (Hooker): 1. 21.

Vernacular:—Mamiri, baringu (Pb.).

English:—The marsh marigold.

Habitat:—Marshes of the Western temperate Himalaya, from Kashmir to Nepal, altitude 8-10,000 feet Simla, common on marshy grounds of Chor.

Botanical description:—A glabrous perennial herb.

Rootstock: thick, creeping.

Stems: 6-18 in. often tufted, erect, robust.

Leaves: shining, chiefly radical, 2-5 in. across, long-stalked, orbicular or kidney-shaped, deeply serrate; teeth small, close, regular.

Stem-leaves: alternate, smaller, the upper sessile, embracing the stem like an involucre.

Flowers: regular, few, 1-2 in. diam., terminal.

Sepals: 5-6, petal-like, bright yellow, oval or oblong-obtuse, imbricate.

Petals: none.

Stamens: many.

Carpels: many, sessile, many ovuled,

Style: short, curved.

Fruit: a head of narrow, flattened, many-seeded follicles, beaked with the persistent styles.

Medicinal uses:—In Hazara, the root is considered poisonous. (Stewart).