Description

Onosma bracteatum, known in Unani medicine as Gule Gajwan or Gaozaban, is an erect annual or biennial herb of the family Boraginaceae, native to the rocky, calcareous hillsides and dry scrublands of northwestern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The plant bears elongated, drooping, golden-yellow tubular flowers clustered at the branch tips. The flowers are the primary commercial part and have been documented in classical Unani pharmacopoeia as an important ingredient in Roghan (medicated oil) and Marham (ointment) preparations, notably the celebrated Roghan-e-Gajwan, traditionally employed for skin conditions, wound healing, and external inflammatory disorders. The plant is also referenced in the Bhavaprakasha Nighantu under Ayurvedic categories. Commercial collection occurs in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, and NWFP of Pakistan.