What is punarnava used for?

Punarnava root is a classical Ayurvedic remedy associated with the kidneys and water balance; this is a traditional, attributed use and not medical advice.

Its tender leaves are eaten as a cooked green (saag) in parts of India, in addition to the plant's traditional medicinal reputation.

✿Nyctaginaceae · Boerhavia

Punarnava / Common Hogweed

Boerhavia diffusa

Also known as Spreading Hogweed, Pigweed, Gorgon, Prickly Water Lily, Hogweed

HerbMedicinal

Habit: Herb
Found in India: Telangana, Gujarat, Rajasthan & more
Flowering: Throughout the year

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How to identify Punarnava

Identify Punarnava by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.

Look for a herb habit.
Check the distinctive field mark: Prostrate, spreading along the ground.
Confirm leaf arrangement: Opposite.
Confirm leaf shape: Ovate.
Confirm flower colour: Pink.
Confirm flower arrangement: Corymb.
Use the leaf pattern: opposite leaf arrangement, simple leaves, entire leaf margins, pinnate venation.

Plant Details

Scientific name: Boerhavia diffusa
Genus: Boerhavia
Family: Nyctaginaceae
Habit: Herb
Distribution: Pantropical, Australia
Found in India: Telangana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Punjab, Sikkim
Flowering & fruiting: Throughout the year
Conservation status: Least Concern (LC)

Leaf characters

Leaf arrangement: OppositerecordedTwo leaves arise from the stem at the same point, facing each other.“Leaves Opposite, oblique, ovate or sub orbicular, rounded, entire, margins slightly pinkish, wavy, lower surface with small, white scales, base rounded.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Leaf shape: OvaterecordedEgg-shaped, broader near the base.“Leaves Opposite, oblique, ovate or sub orbicular, rounded, entire, margins slightly pinkish, wavy, lower surface with small, white scales, base rounded.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Leaf margin: UndulaterecordedA wavy, rippled edge.“Leaves Opposite, oblique, ovate or sub orbicular, rounded, entire, margins slightly pinkish, wavy, lower surface with small, white scales, base rounded.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Typical of the family

Type: Simple
Venation: Pinnate

Characters marked “recorded” are for Punarnava itself; the rest are typical of the Nyctaginaceae family.

Flower & fruit characters

Flower colour: Pinkrecorded
Flower arrangement: CorymbrecordedA flat-topped cluster where outer flower stalks are longer than inner ones.“Inflorescence Small umbels forming Corymbose, axillary and terminal panicle.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Fruit type: AchenerecordedA small, dry, single-seeded fruit that does not split open.“Fruit Achene rounded, 6-ribbed.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Typical of the family

Flower symmetry: Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
Inflorescence: Cyme
Fruit: Achene

Characters marked “recorded” are for Punarnava itself; the rest are typical of the Nyctaginaceae family — flowering plants only.

Local Names

Hindi: Punarnava, Satha, punarnava
Nepali: पुनर्नवा Punarnavaa, पुनर्वा Punarvaa, लाल पुनर्नवा Laal Punarnavaa
Tamil: மூக்கரட்டி சாரை
Telugu: అటికమామిడి
Kannada: ಅಡಕಪುಟ್ಟ Adakaputta, ಅಡಕಪುಟ್ಟನಗಿಡ Adakaputtana gida, ಕೊಮ್ಮೆ Komme
Malayalam: തഴുതാമ, പുനർനവ, ശോതാഗ്നി
Marathi: पुनर्नवा, घेटुळी

Punarnava in India

Punarnava is a sprawling roadside weed valued in Ayurveda — Punarnava (Hindi), மூக்கரட்டி சாரை (Tamil), అటికమామిడి (Telugu), ಅಡಕಪುಟ್ಟ Adakaputta (Kannada), തഴുതാമ (Malayalam), पुनर्नवा (Marathi), the 'renewer'. Boerhavia diffusa is recorded across Gujarat, Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Rajasthan, springing up with the monsoon on waste ground.

Uses

Its root is one of the best-known traditional remedies associated with the kidneys and fluid balance in Ayurveda — an attributed use described for information, not medical advice. The young leaves are also cooked as a green in some regions.

How to Identify Punarnava

A spreading, much-branched herb with reddish, jointed, often sticky stems lying along the ground. The leaves are paired and unequal, rounded with wavy edges and pale undersides, and tiny pink flowers sit in small clusters on long stalks.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Common Hogweed called in different Indian languages?: Punarnava (Hindi); மூக்கரட்டி சாரை (Tamil); అటికమామిడి (Telugu); ಅಡಕಪುಟ್ಟ Adakaputta (Kannada); തഴുതാമ (Malayalam); पुनर्नवा (Marathi).
What is punarnava used for?: Punarnava root is a classical Ayurvedic remedy associated with the kidneys and water balance; this is a traditional, attributed use and not medical advice.
Is punarnava edible?: Its tender leaves are eaten as a cooked green (saag) in parts of India, in addition to the plant's traditional medicinal reputation.

Botanical family

Nyctaginaceae

Four-O'clock Family

Punarnava belongs to the Nyctaginaceae family.

The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.

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Common plant problems

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Sources: GBIF — Boerhavia diffusa (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · iNaturalist — Boerhavia diffusa (regional names, India observations) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Boerhavia diffusa (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)