Family: Asteraceae
Common name: Madras carpet, Nilampala, Davana, Dodda gaadaari, Granthaparni, Maasipatre, Nelampala, Mukhatari, Mustaru
Madras carpet is a small, widespread plant native to India and South East Asia, and also a few South African countries. It has a carpet-like growth habit spreading quickly along the ground, and can become an invasive weed in agricultural land.
Plant Characteristics
Madras Carpet plants are short, reaching a height of 10-25 cm with a slender, flexible, heavily branched stem. The roots are fibrous and shallow, spreading horizontally on the ground, and hence these plants are easy to remove by hand.
The stem can grow erect or prostrate, which means that they can grow upwards or spread horizontally along the ground.
Where the stem touches the soil, the nodes are capable of rooting to give extra strength to the plant and also to help it spread quickly. They can spread to a diameter of 1 meter, giving the plant its name, Madras carpet.
Leaves of the Madras carpet are small, highly serrated, and lobed with a feathery appearance. Each leaf has 5-8 uneven lobes, which sometimes look further lobed.
Madras carpet leaves are bright green when they are younger, slowly turning dull bluish-green on maturity. Small white hairs present on the stems and the lower side of the leaves give them a fussy appearance.
One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the Madras carpet is the small, yellow, button-like flowers that bloom in plenty.
Each flower is 8-10 mm in diameter with two different types of florets, the outer ones female having small corolla tubes, and the inner ones also small and tube-like.
Madras carpet flowers attract bees, ants, and small insects to them for pollination. The seeds produced are flat and smooth, extremely tiny. Flowering happens during the summer months from February to April, after which they produce seeds and multiply quickly.
Growing Tips
Madras Carpet plants need good sunlight, which can be direct or the filtered sunlight under large trees. They need sandy or loamy soil that is well-drained, but these sturdy weeds can grow in a variety of soil conditions.
Since these are wild plants, they do not need watering, pruning, or fertilization. They can thrive and spread quickly in warm, moist, tropical weather, though these plants are not as commonly seen these days due to urbanization.
Uses of Madras Carpet
Although these plants are considered as weeds, they are considered valuable in traditional herbal medicine and Ayurveda in the treatment of stomach pain, ear ache, muscle pain, head ache, rheumatism, and menstrual disorders.
They make excellent ground covers since they spread quickly over large areas, helping protect the valuable topsoil. Their beautiful yellow flowers also add beauty to the landscape.
In addition to preventing soil erosion, these plants can also attract bees and butterflies with their bright and beautiful flowers, making them valuable in supporting local wildlife and improving biodiversity.
Propagation
Propagation is through seeds and stem cuttings.
Mature seeds collected from parent plants can be sowed in normal soil to germinate in a few days. Most plants are capable of self-propagation, producing numerous small plants around the parent plants.
Stem cuttings can also root quickly, since the nodes produce roots on touching the soil. Small pieces of stem taken from parent plants can take root in soil very quickly, making it very easy to propagate Madras carpet plants.
Photographed at: Jungle lodges and resorts, Kabini, Karnataka
