Sida cordifolia – Bala (seed)

Description

Sida cordifolia is in the Malvaceae family and the genus has approximately 150 species, 35 which are endemic to Australia. Pantropic in its distribution, Sida cordifolia is believed to be native to India, where it has been used traditionally for hundreds of years to treat bronchial asthma cold & flu, chills, lack of perspiration, nasal congestion, headache, aching joints and bones, coughing & wheezing, and edema.

Traditionally the plant is useful for lung and chest complaints due to its high mucilage content. The whole flowering plant has yielded an average of 0.085% alkaloids, composed of phenethylamines, carboxylated tryptamines and quinazolines (Voogelbreinder 2009). The leaves contain the quinazoline alkaloids vasicine, vasicinone and vasicinol, vascine having hypotension and brachycardia properties. An aqueous extract of the leaves collected before flowering was of low toxicity and showed analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity (Voogelbreinder 2009).

Care and Cultivation of Sida cordifolia

Seed can be sown in late autumn/spring/summer. Either sow directly into ground or in a pot. Lightly cover with soil and keep moist until they begin to germinate. Techniques used to enhance germination include; alternating hot and cold treatments (freezing and heating); scarification (hot water treatment or mechanical scarification); and alternating temperatures for intact untreated seeds (ie; high day and low night temperatures). Plants have a very strong and deep taproot, it can be almost impossible to uproot a young plant!

50 seeds per packet or 1g seed (~500 seeds) please choose option

Shipping restrictions: Not to WA or NT