Weed Herbarium

Department of Agronomy

Bangladesh Agricultural University

Kasschara

Common Name: Blue Waterleaf
Scientific Name: Hydrolea zeylanica (L.) Vahl
Family Name: Hydroleaceae
Type: Broad Leaf

Identification Notes

Hydrolea zeylanica Photo 1
Hydrolea zeylanica Photo 1
Hydrolea zeylanica Photo 2
Hydrolea zeylanica Photo 3
EPPO Code
HYMZE
Life Cycle
Annual
Morphology
Stem- prostrate, much branched, creeping below, rooting at the nodes below, erect above. Leaves- simple, variable in size and shape, lanceolate to oblong or elliptic, the upper ones very small, apex acute to attenuate Flower- solitary in terminal or axillary Fruit- a capsule, thin, transparent, ellipsoid. Seed-minute, oblong, brownish in color.
Growing season
Rabi and Kharif
Germination period
June - October
Flowering period
August to January
Propagation
By seed
Habitat
Prefer dry to moist condition. Found mainly in transplant aman rice fields, levee of crop fields and irrigation chennel.
Weed potential
Recognized as new troublesome weeds spreading in the paddy fields of central and northern Luzon Island of the Philippines. Hydrolea is distributed in the tropics from India to the Philippine.
Control measure
Integrated weed management (manual + chemical control)
Recommended herbicide
Pretilachlor/Triafamone/2, 4-D amine
Distribution
Native to India and other Southeast Asian countries.
Medicinal properties
In India, green and leafy vegetables of H. zeylanica are used in diet which are rich source of nutrition, dietary fibers in reducing malnutrition, and keeps in control the blood sugar level. Since ancient times, the Chorei tribal community of Assam, India uses young leaves of H. zeylanica to treat diabetes related vascular complications like retinopathy, neuropathy, renal diseases, and encephalopathy (Swain et al. 2022). In Bangladesh, leaves are used as an ingredient in the Ayurveda formulation to relieve rheumatic pain (Swain et al. 2020).
References

[1] Swain SK, Dash UC,  Sahoo AK. 2022. Hydrolea zeylanica improves cognitive impairment in high-fat diet fed-streptozotocin-induced diabetic encephalopathy in rats via regulating oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and neurotransmission in brain, Heliyon, 8(11): e11301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11301.

[2] Swain SK, Dash UC, Kanhar S, Sahoo AK. 2020. Ameliorative effects of Hydrolea zeylanica in streptozotocin-induced oxidative stress and metabolic changes in diabetic rats. Journal of ethnopharmacology. 247:112257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2019.112257