Hangod
Achyranthes aspera · Prickly chaff flower
- Names in the book
- Hangor, Hangot, Dokotdekot, Libay, Tag.; Angod, Pam.
- Colours
- flowergreenish-white, purple
- Native range
- Old World tropics
- In the Philippines, per the book
- Common in Luzon. Blooms in November.
- Family
- Amaranthaceae, filed in the book under Amaranthaceæ
- Printed as
- Achyranthes obtusifolia, Lam. (A. aspera, Blanco.)
- Sources
- Page 201 on Project Gutenberg · Wikipedia
The plant today
Achyranthes aspera (common names: chaff-flower, prickly chaff flower, devil's horsewhip, Sanskrit: अपामार्ग apāmārga) is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropical world. It can be found in many places growing as an introduced species and a common weed. It is an invasive species in some areas, including many Pacific Islands environments.
Excerpt from “Achyranthes aspera” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 111 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 17 provinces, most often Bukidnon (4), Ilocos Norte (3), Batangas (2), Cagayan (2), Cavite (2), Davao del Sur (2), Davao Oriental (2), Metropolitan Manila (2), and 9 more.
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1901 book says
A historical record, quoted as printed. Doses and remedies here are not medical advice.
Uses
The plant has astringent and diuretic properties; the latter were observed by Dr. Cornish, who communicated the facts to Waring, calling special attention to the good service the drug had afforded him in dropsy. Other physicians in India have confirmed these observations of Cornish. The decoction is made of 60 grams of the entire plant to 750 cc. water, boiled till reduced one-half and strained under pressure. Dose, 60 cc. every 2 hours till diuresis is induced.
The ashes of this plant, like those of the Amaranthus spinosus, L., contain a large quantity of potassa, and are used for washing clothes; on this account it has received its Sanscrit name Apamarga (the washer). The ashes are also mixed in an infusion of ginger and given internally in dropsy.
The flowers are bruised and applied to the bites of snakes and other poisonous animals. In India there is a superstition that carrying these flowers about the person will keep off scorpions.
Botanical description
A plant about 3° high, the stem angular and downy. Leaves opposite, downy, clasping the stem, lanceolate, very obtuse and wavy. Flowers bent downward in a long spike bearing many flowerets. Calyx, 5 tough scales. Corolla wanting. Nectary much smaller than the calyx, monophyllous, 5-lobed. Stamens 5. Ovary top-shaped, upper part somewhat concave. Style same length as stamens. Stigma coarse, bifid. Fruit, a seed covered with 2 membranes, one enveloping it completely, the outer one adherent in only one part.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
- The protective role of Achyranthes aspera extract against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity by alleviating oxidative stress, inflammation, and PANoptosis
- Characterization and comparison of polysaccharides from Achyranthes bidentata, Cyathula officinalis and Achyranthes aspera by saccharides mapping
- Achyranthes aspera ameliorates stress induced depression in mice by regulating neuroinflammatory cytokines