Farsighted indeed has been the vision of our great saints, who enlightened us on the use of the traditional medicines, efficacious in the treatment of all diseases for all climes and for all times. As proud citizens of India it is our duty that Ayurveda, born in the soils of India serves the suffering humanity all over the world.

The arogyappacha plant is not identified by name in the Ayurvedic texts. However, Sushruta, an ancient practitioner of Ayurveda who classified various medicinal herbs, gave the following description of one named, Varahi

  a) Kandha sambhara - rhizomatous
  b) Ekapatra - single leaves arising from a stem
  c) Anjana samaprabha - shining like grey-black stone (referencing the color of the       leaves)
  d) Krishnasarpa swarupena - like a black cobra with its raised hood (the plant has a       trailing stem with raised leaves)

This is a fairly accurate description of arogyappacha. Sushruta ascribed great rejuvenating property to Varahi, which is also true of arogyappacha. The obvious conclusion is that the Varahi of the Ayurvedics is likely the arogyappacha of the Kani tribe of South India. (Trichopus zeylanicus subsp. Travancorius, Pushpangadan et al. 1988).