Which of the following plants is used to cure cold and cough?

Correct — D. Tulsi, or holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum), is the plant that Indian household and Ayurvedic practice uses against cold and cough, usually as a leaf decoction with ginger, honey or black pepper.

The other three names are medicinal too, but each carries a different traditional use, and separating those uses is what the question is actually doing. Option (d) is Tulsi.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Arjun — Arjun (Terminalia arjuna) is used in Ayurveda as a heart tonic, and the part used is the bark rather than the leaf.
• (b)
  Babool — Babool (Acacia nilotica) is the dental one — its twigs serve as datun and its bark and gum are used for the gums and for toothache.
• (c)
  Jamun — Jamun (Syzygium cumini) is traditionally associated with blood sugar, taken as a seed powder, not as a cough remedy.

This is a plant-and-use pairing question, and all four names are common Indian trees or shrubs with recognised traditional uses.

Learn them as pairs, because the question changes only the ailment: Tulsi for cold and cough, Arjun for the heart, Babool for teeth and gums, Jamun for blood sugar.

Tulsi is Ocimum tenuiflorum, also written Ocimum sanctum, and belongs to the mint family, Lamiaceae.

Key facts

• Tulsi is Ocimum tenuiflorum, also written Ocimum sanctum, of the family Lamiaceae.
• Terminalia arjuna is used in Ayurveda for cardiac conditions, chiefly its bark.
• Acacia nilotica, known as babool or kikar, is traditionally used in dental care.
• Syzygium cumini, jamun, is traditionally linked to the management of blood sugar.

Common traps

• Picking Jamun because it is the most familiar edible fruit in the list.
• Assuming each plant has a single use, when several of these have more than one.

No directly related past PYQ was found.