Ma Lan

Kalimeris indica (syn. Aster indicus) is a perennial herb of the Asteraceae, native to East and South Asia. It grows 30–70 cm tall from a short, creeping rhizome, with erect, slender, sparingly branched stems. The alternate leaves are lanceolate to oblanceolate, coarsely toothed, the lower ones often withered by flowering time. From late spring through autumn the plant bears small daisy-like capitula, 1.5–2.5 cm across, with pale lilac to white ray florets and yellow disc florets, arranged in loose corymbs. It is common in moist meadows, ditch margins, fallow paddies, and roadsides across much of China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. The aerial parts (and sometimes the whole plant including roots) are gathered when in flower for medicinal use.