Akkapana Bryophyllum pinnatum

Common name - Akkapana

Botanical name - Bryophyllum pinnatum

Family - Crassulaceae

Life cycle - Perennial

Morphology

• Stems and Leaves
• The upright stems are fleshy (i.e. succulent) and hairless 
• The leaves are also fleshy (i.e. succulent) and are either simple or compound (i.e. trifoliate or pinnate). They are oppositely arranged, flattened. These leaves (5-25 cm long and 2-12.5 cm wide) are green or yellowish-green in colour, hairless (i.e. glabrous), 
• The fruit are papery and membranous (about 15 mm long)

Propagation 

•  Leaves

Agricultural usage/ importance 

• Leaves used as astringent, antiseptic, and counterirritant against poisonous insect bites.
• This species is thought to be poisonous to livestock and humans.
• These can cause cardiac poisoning, particularly in grazing animals

Control method 

•  Hand weeding