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Cheers for Chitrarattai
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Chitrarattai plant has a medicinal chest in it , writes Hema Vijay
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Chitrarattai is one of the many native plants of our subcontinent that virtually holds a medicinal chest in it. In this case, it is the plant’s pungent root tissues which store medicinal power. Used in herbal formulations to treat many conditions like cold, cough, and even stomach complaints and indigestion, this plant, commonly known as the ‘Smaller Galangal’ is a valuable ingredient of both Siddha and Ayurvedic medicine.
You can harvest the plant’s roots, sun-dry it and store it for future use. Traditional medicinal practices advocate drinking an extract prepared by boiling in water two to four grams of the dried and powdered roots to cure cold and cough. The dried form of Chitrarattai roots is also available in our nattu marundu kadais (stores selling country medicine).
Initially, you might obtain baby Chitrarattai plants with their roots intact from nurseries.
Subsequently, the plant tends to spread around, so propagation is effectively easy. Chitrarattai thrives with daily watering of about a litre of water everyday, and in a soil mixture containing one part red earth, one part sand and one part manure.
Make sure that the soil remains well drained. The plant needs good sunlight. Under good conditions, the plant grows to a height of about 1.5 metres. Being a medicinal plant, Chitrarattai is not prone to pest infestations, but if you notice pests like caterpillars living off this plant, give the plant a spray of pesticides.
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