Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Solanales > Solanaceae > Withania > Withania somnifera

Withania somnifera (withania)

Synonyms: Withania somnifera var. macrocalyx; Withnia somnifera var. communis

Wikipedia Abstract

Withania somnifera, known commonly as ashwagandha, Indian ginseng, poison gooseberry, or winter cherry, is a plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family. Several other species in the genus Withania are morphologically similar. It is used as a herb in Ayurvedic medicine.
View Wikipedia Record: Withania somnifera

Infraspecies

Withania somnifera obtusifolia
Withania somnifera somnifera

Attributes

Edible [1]  May be edible. See the Plants For A Future link below for details.
Flower Type [1]  Hermaphrodite
Hazards [1]  The plant is toxic if eaten;
Leaf Type [1]  Evergreen
Structure [1]  Shrub
Usage [1]  The fruit is rich in saponins and can be used as a soap substitute; The leaves are an insect repellent;
Height [1]  39 inches (1 m)
Width [1]  20 inches (0.5 m)
View Plants For A Future Record : Withania somnifera

Protected Areas

Name IUCN Category Area acres Location Species Website Climate Land Use
Karoo National Park II 190300 Western Cape, South Africa
Kruger National Park II 4718115 Mpumalanga, South Africa
Mount Kulal Biosphere Reserve 1729738 Kenya  

Predators

Coccidohystrix insolita (eggplant mealybug)[2]
Drosicha mangiferae[2]
Papio cynocephalus (yellow baboon)[3]
Phenacoccus solenopsis (solenopsis mealybug)[2]
Rhizoecus dianthi (blind mealybug)[2]

External References

USDA Plant Profile

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 2Ben-Dov, Y., Miller, D.R. & Gibson, G.A.P. ScaleNet 4 November 2009
♦ 3Feeding Behavior of Yellow Baboons (Papio cynocephalus) in the Amboseli National Park, Kenya; David G. Post; International Journal of Primatology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 1982 p. 403-430
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0