Karisalankanni (Eclipta prostrata)

Karisalankanni is Eclipta prostrata, the false daisy — a low white-flowered composite of wet ground that Hindi trade calls bhringraj and that hair-oil brands have turned into a slogan. Older books say Eclipta alba. Hair-oil promises are not evidence about the weed.

Botanical name: Eclipta prostrata (L.) L.
Family: Asteraceae
Tamil: Karisalankanni
Hindi: Bhangra
Sanskrit: Bhṛṅgarāja
Parts used: Whole herb, Leaves
Habit: Low annual or short-lived perennial of wet disturbed ground
Last updated: 2026-10-30

How to recognise Karisalankanni

Linnaeus published the combination. The family is Asteraceae. Stems are prostrate or weakly erect, often rooting at nodes, with opposite lanceolate leaves and small flower heads that look white because of the ray florets. The fruiting heads are dull and bristly.

Eclipta alba is the synonym you will still see on Ayurvedic lists. If you are filing a label today, use Eclipta prostrata and mention the synonym so older readers are not lost.

Tamil karisalankanni (and the longer karisalanganni) and Hindi bhangra / bhringraj are the usual names. “False daisy” is English for the little white heads. It is not Bellis, and it is not a garden daisy you pick for a vase.

It likes wet feet: rice bunds, ditch edges, monsoon lawns. A dry-land shrub sold as bhringraj is a different plant or a lie.

Kew accepts Eclipta prostrata. A photograph of the living head is worth more than a dark hair-oil bottle.

Stems are often reddish at the nodes when the plant has had sun and wet feet together. That colour is a clue, not a certificate.

Dried herb in a hair-oil factory is easy to stretch with other green composites. Look for a whole plant with the little white heads still attached.

It can be annual or linger. A monsoon flush on a bund is the usual Indian picture, not a forest understorey.

Traditional use of Karisalankanni

Ayurveda

Bhṛṅgarāja is a hair and liver heading in that system. Those are historical categories. They are not a trichology or hepatology claim.

Ayurvedic materia medica headings

Siddha and Tamil household

Karisalankanni is a keerai and a decoction green in South Indian practice. Leaf as food and leaf as oil are different jobs.

Tamil vernacular

Modern notes on Karisalankanni

Hair-oil brands have done more for this plant’s English fame than any trial. A branded oil and a ditch weed are not interchangeable.

There is no good evidence that karisalankanni restores hair, darkens greys or “cleans the liver.”

Because Eclipta alba is still the name in many papers, a search must use both combinations.

Oil that stains the scalp dark brown may contain little Eclipta and a lot of other dye. Colour on hair is not a botanical assay.

Karisalankanni safety

Leaf as an occasional green is the ordinary rural exposure. Oils and extracts are a different strength.

Composites can bother people with ragweed-family allergies.

Pregnant people should not start “hair and liver” extracts from a shop poster.

Ecology and sourcing

The plant is a weed of wet ground. Over-collection is less the story than mislabelling of dried herb and of oils that may contain little Eclipta.

Related plants

Also in Asteraceae

Questions about Karisalankanni

Is Eclipta alba a different plant?

No. Eclipta alba is the older name still printed on many packets. The accepted name used here is Eclipta prostrata.

What is the Tamil name of Eclipta prostrata?

Karisalankanni.

Sources

Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.