Ixora chinensis (PROSEA)
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Introduction |
Ixora chinensis Lamk
- Protologue: Encycl. 3: 344 (1789).
Synonyms
Ixora stricta Roxb. (1820).
Vernacular names
- Chinese ixora (En)
- Indonesia: kembang soka, siantan
- Malaysia: jarum-jarum merah, pechah priok, siantan hutan (Peninsular)
- Philippines: santan (Tagalog, Bikol), santan-pula, santan-tsina (Tagalog)
- Cambodia: kam rontea
- Vietnam: dơn dỏ, bộng trang dỏ.
Distribution
Southern Burma (Myanmar), Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo; cultivated in Java, the Philippines and elsewhere.
Uses
In Malaysia a decoction of the root is used after childbirth. In the Philippines an infusion of the fresh flowers is said to be a remedy against incipient tuberculosis and haemorrhage. An infusion of leaves or flowers is used against headache. In Indonesia, a decoction of the roots is used against bronchial disorders; a decoction of the flowers is prescribed in amenorrhoea and hypertension. I. chinensis is widely cultivated as an ornamental.
Observations
A shrub with many stems, up to 2 m tall; leaves obovate-oblong, 6-10 cm × 2.5-5 cm, coriaceous, base rounded, cordate or sometimes obtuse, apex obtuse, petiole short, stipules long-awned; branchlets of inflorescence opposite, red; flowers with corolla tube 3-3.5 cm long, lobes circular-obovate, broadly rounded at apex, 6 mm × 6 mm, orange-red or white (cultivated plants only), not fragrant; fruit globose, black. I. chinensis is reportedly common on river banks in Peninsular Malaysia.
Selected sources
97, 182, 202, 427, 625, 768, 1126, 1178, 1227, 1572, 1591.
Authors
M.C. Ysrael & J.L.C.H. van Valkenburg
