Blepharis maderaspatensis (L.) B.Heyne

Procumbent or scrambling (rarely suberect) perennial (rarely annual) herb (rarely a suberect or trailing subshrub); stems up to 2 m long, sometimes rooting at nodes, minutely puberulous to pubescent or pilose or sericeous, sometimes only in a single band (rarely subglabrous). Leaves often greyish beneath, subglabrous to densely hispid-puberulous to pubescent, often densest along veins; lamina ovate to elliptic or slightly obovate (rarely lanceolate), largest 1.7-10(-15) x 0.4-4(-5) cm; margin entire, with a few scattered setose teeth or with large triangular mucronate teeth. Spikes solitary or in clusters of up to 15, dispersed whole when mature. Bracts greenish to brownish, sometimes with transverse purple bands, elliptic-obovate to orbicular, subglabrous to puberulous or pubescent (rarely densely so), terminating in a recurved bristle and on each side with 4-10 retrorsely (rarely spreadingly) barbed and finely glochidiate bristles (0.5-) 1-7 mm long; outer pair 2-8 mm long, second pair 3-12 mm long, third pair 5-12 (-14) mm long, inner pair 6-13(-16) mm long. Bracteoles absent. Sepals sparsely to densely puberulous (rarely pubescent or sparsely pilose along veins) and ciliate, colour as bracts; dorsal 9-25 mm long, ovate-elliptic, narrowing gradually to the acute to rounded apex (rarely with slightly spathulate apical part); ventral similar, 8-20 mm long, with two small triangular apical teeth (rarely truncate); lateral 5-10(-12) mm long. Corolla white or cream with mauve or purple veins, 10-27(-30) mm long of which the tube 3-8 mm; limb 4-13 mm wide, oblong-obovate; callus not ribbed. Filaments 2-9 mm long, sparsely glandular (rarely hairy); appendage 0.5-1 mm long, broadly rounded; anthers 2-4 mm long. Capsule 5-8 mm long; seed ± 4.5 x 3 mm.

It is a tropical plant. It grows on bare ground including poor gravelly soils. In southern India it grows from sea level to 1,400 m altitude. It grows in forests and palm groves. It grows on limestone cliffs and rocks at about 800 m in southern China.

The root tuber is edible and is used to quench thirst.