CSIR-NEERI Biodiversity Portal

NEERI Biodiversity Portal

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NBP was inaugurated by Dr. M.S. Ladania, Director, NRCC Nagpur on 8 April 2015

Bala

Sida cordifolia L.

Botanical name	: Sida cordifolia L.
Common Name	: Bala
Family	: Malvaceae
About	: Sida cordifolia well known in India as Bala, is a weed that grows wild in wastelands and along roadsides. The plant though seasonal, is available throughout the year, and is especially luxuriant during the months of October to December. Ephedrine is one of the alkaloids present, which has fat-burning and Antistress properties. Sida cordifolia is a small, erect, downy shrub. The leaves of the plant are chordate-oblong or ovate- oblong and fruits with a pair of awns on each carpel. Roots of the plant which constitute a drug are 5-15 cm long with few lateral roots of smaller size. The flowers are small, yellow or white in colour, solitary and axillaries. The fruits are moong-sized, 6-8 mm in diameter. The seeds are called as Bijabanda in Ayurveda, are grayish black in colour and smooth.