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Water Hyssop

Botanical Name(s): Bacopa Monniera
Family Name: Scrophulariaceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Bacopa
Species: B. monnieri
Popular Name(s): Herpestis Monnieria, Thyme leaved Gratiola, Brahmi, Bacopa, Babies Tear
Parts Used: Whole Plant
Habitat: Grows in marshy places and cultivated throughout India

Description
A small perennial creeping herb, water hyssop has numerous branches that are succulent and rooting at the nodes. The branches are about 10 to 30 cm long. The leaves are oblong, petiole, punctuate, decussate, sessile and fleshy. The small and white flowers are axillary, solitary with peduncles and the tips are purple. The seeds are oblong, truncate and longitudinally ribbed, with transverse striations in between the ribs. Fruits and flowers appear in summers. The annual creeping plant is found throughout India, including the Northeastern Region. It is commonly known as bengsaga and brahmi in Hindi; mandukiparni, manduki, brahmi and saraswati in Sanskrit; thulakudi in Bengali; karivanna in Marathi; khandabrahmi in Gujarati; vallarikiri in Tamil and mandukabrahami in Telugu.

Plant Chemicals
(+)- brahmine, herpestine, hydrocotyline, saponins, monnierin, hersaponin, bacoside A, bacoside B, bacopasides, D-mannitol, betulic acid, ß-sitosterol, stigmasterol, heptacosane, octacosane, nonacosane, triacontane, hentriacontane, dotriacontane, nicotine, 3-formyl-4-hydroxy-2H-pyran, luteolin and its 7-glucoside, a-alamine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine and its esters, pectic acid, fatty acids, tannin, volatile oil, ascorbic acid, thankunic acid, asiatic acid, brahamoside, brahminoside, brahmic acid, isobrahmic acid, betulinic acid, wogonin, oroxindin, sterols.

Uses & Benefits of Water Hyssop
Caution