Description

Pluchea lanceolata, Indian camphorweed, is a perennial shrub of the family Asteraceae, native to the dry sandy and saline soils of the Indian subcontinent — particularly Rajasthan, Gujarat, Sindh, and Punjab — often growing in semi-arid wasteland and salt flat margins. The plant produces lance-shaped, camphor-scented leaves and small pinkish flower heads. Known in classical Ayurveda as Rasna — one of the important herbs of the Vata-balancing group — the leaves are cited in the Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita for Vata balance, joint comfort and neuromuscular wellness. The classical formulation Rasnaadi Kwatha, incorporating Pluchea lanceolata as the principal ingredient, is listed in the Ayurvedic Formulary of India. Commercially harvested across the arid belt of Rajasthan and Gujarat.