Brahmi Shak Ful(ব্রাহ্মী শাক ফুল) - Bacopa monnieri

Bengali Name :	Brahmi Shak Ful, ব্রাহ্মী শাক ফুল।
Common Name :	Brahmi, Smooth Water Hyssop.
Botanical Name :	Bacopa monnieri
Synonym :	Bacopa monnieria, Bramia indica
Family :	Scrophulariaceae

This weed flower is native to Indian territory including Bangladesh, Burma, etc. Botanical name of this is Bacopa monnieri. It belongs to the plant family Scrophulariaceae. It has lot of common names, for example Brahmi, Water Hyssop, Indian pennywort, Thyme-leafed gratiola, etc. In Bangladesh, we call this as Brahmi Shak Ful(ব্রাহ্মী শাক ফুল).

This plant is an annual(sometimes perennial) sprawling weed which grows naturally at shallow water, marshy lands, muddy areas, etc. It can grow both in freshwater or saltwater(brackish). Leafs of the plant are succulent and thick, arranged oppositely around the stem, and having a scent of lemon. Flowers are very small having 4-5 petals. Color of the flower is white but the filaments are kind of blackish. The flower can have a violet/pinkish touch at the mouth of corolla.

Despite of being a weed plant, this has lot of medicinal uses, specially in Ayurveda. People are using this for epilepsy, increasing memory capacity, concentration, etc from the ancient time.

Photos of this article were taken from Jhenaidah(ঝিনাইদহ). I was traveling there during October 2012. It was beside a mosque and initially I thought it might be the Creeping lickstoop flower. So I almost skipped this one. I don't know, but somehow I have captured few of it's photos that time luckily.


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