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Bacopa monnieri
Plantaginaceae FAMILY

Bacopa monnieri

Bacopa monnieri

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
4/5

Safety & Hazards

When the plant is harvested from the wild, great care should be taken to harvest it from unpolluted sites, as it can take up considerable amounts of heavy metals[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Plants can be grown in warmer temperate climates through to tropical zones[2]. Grows best in a sunny position[1]. Prefers a soil on the heavy side[1]. Requires a wet soil to shallow water[3]. Tolerant of saline conditions[3]. Plants can flower and produce fruit throughout most of the year[1].

Propagation

Seed - minimum temperature for germination is 16°c, the maximum is 28°c, while the optimum is at 20°c[1]. Division Softwood cuttings Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Bacopa+monnieri>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  2. [2]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Handbook of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants — Kapoor. L. D. · CRC Press, Florida. · 2001 · ISBN 0-8493-2929-9 ↩︎A very detailed book on some of the key Ayurvedic herbs, giving both technical and non-technical information on each plant. The whole is very well referenced.
  5. [5]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  6. [6]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
  7. [7]Plants and People of Nepal — Manandhar. N. P. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 2002 · ISBN 0-88192-527-6 ↩︎Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.