Andrographis

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image = Andrographis echioides (False Waterwillow) W IMG 1533.jpg

|image_caption = Andrographis echioides

|display_parents = 2

|taxon = Andrographis

|authority = Wall. ex Nees (1832)

|subdivision_ranks = Species

|subdivision = See text

|synonyms =

• Erianthera {{small|Nees (1832)}}
• Indoneesiella {{small|Sreem. (1968)}}
• Neesiella {{small|Sreem. (1967), nom. illeg.}}

|synonyms_ref =

}}

Andrographis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. They may be generally known as the false waterwillows,[https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=182365 Andrographis.] Integrated Taxonomic Information System. and several are called periyanagai.Boopathi, C. A. (2000). [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3336446/pdf/ASL-19-164.pdf Andrographis spp.: A source of bitter compounds for medicinal use.] Anc Sci Life 19(3-4) 164-8.

The species are native to the Indian subcontinent (including Myanmar, Sri Lanka and the West Himalaya region).Niranjan, A., et al. (2010). [http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/9819/1/IJNPR%201%282%29%20125-135.pdf Biological activities of kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata Nees) and its active principles - A review.] Indian J Nat Prod Resour 1(2) 125-35. Many are endemic to India.Gnanasekaran, G. and G. V. S. Murthy. (2012). [https://web.archive.org/web/20221101103634/http://www.iaat.org.in/Rheedea22_77-79.pdf Lectotypifications in Andrographis (Acanthaceae).] Rheedia 22(2) 77-79. They may be herbs or shrubs. They are introduced and/or cultivated in Southeast Asia and some areas around the Caribbean.

Some species are used medicinally. The best known is Andrographis paniculata, which is valued in Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha medicine. It is used to treat a very long list of illnesses and conditions. A. alata and A. lineata are used in human and veterinary medicine. Food use has also been recorded.{{cite book |last1=Pauline Dy Phon |title=Plants Utilised In Cambodia/Plantes utilisées au Cambodge |date=2000 |publisher=Imprimerie Olympic |location=Phnom Penh |pages=14, 15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=InD2RAAACAAJ|author1-link=Pauline Dy Phon }}

It is currently (as of April 2021) accepted that there are 26 species in the genus.{{cite web |title=Andrographis Wall. ex Nees |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:375-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=8 April 2021}} These are:

• Andrographis affinis {{small|Nees}}
• Andrographis alata {{small|(Vahl) Nees}}
• Andrographis atropurpurea {{small|(Dennst.) Alston}}
• Andrographis beddomei {{small|C.B.Clarke}}
• Andrographis chendurunii {{small|E.S.S.Kumar, A.E.S.Khan & S.G.Gopal}}
• Andrographis echioides {{small|(L.) Nees}}
• Andrographis elongata {{small|(Vahl) T.Anderson}}
• Andrographis explicata {{small|(C.B.Clarke) Gamble}}
• Andrographis glandulosa {{small|(B.Heyne ex Roth) Nees}}
• Andrographis gracilis {{small|Nees}}
• Andrographis lawsonii {{small|Gamble}}
• Andrographis lineata {{small|Nees}}
• Andrographis lobelioides {{small|Wight}}
• Andrographis longipedunculata {{small|(Sreem.) L.H.Cramer ex Karthik. & Moorthy}}
• Andrographis macrobotrys {{small|Nees}}
• Andrographis megamalayana {{small|Gnanasek., Karupp. & G.V.S.Murthy}}
• Andrographis neesiana {{small|Wight}}
• Andrographis paniculata {{small|(Burm.f.) Nees}} - Indian subcontinent (native), SE Asia (cultivated)
• Andrographis producta {{small|(C.B.Clarke) Gamble}}
• Andrographis rothii {{small|C.B.Clarke}}
• Andrographis rotundifolia {{small|(Sreem.) Sreem.}}
• Andrographis serpyllifolia {{small|(Rottler ex Vahl) Wight}}
• Andrographis stellulata {{small|C.B.Clarke}}
• Andrographis stenophylla {{small|C.B.Clarke}}
• Andrographis subspathulata {{small|C.B.Clarke}}
• Andrographis viscosula {{small|Nees}}