Leucas lavandulifolia (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Leucas lavandulifolia J.E. Smith

Protologue: in Rees, Cycl. 20: sect. 2, pt. 40 (1812).

Leucas linifolia (Roth) Spreng. (1825).

• Armoise blanche (Fr)
• Indonesia: paci-paci (Sundanese), lenglengan (Javanese), laranga (Tidore)
• Malaysia: ketumbak, ketumbit (Peninsular)
• Philippines: karukansoli, salita (Tagalog), kaskasumba (Iloko).

L. lavandulifolia is distributed from India, and the Mascarenes to China and southwards throughout Malesia, though rare in Borneo and Papua New Guinea.

In Malesia, L. lavandulifolia is said to be used to heal chronic leg sores, dermatosis, as an anthelminthic for roundworms, and for appeasing affections of the nerves. In Java, a poultice is especially applied in veterinary medicine in order to cleanse stinking wounds from fly larvae. In Java, it is also used as a vegetable, and as a fodder for cattle.

An annual herb, 30-80 cm tall, stem and branches subglaucous; leaves linear-lanceolate, 4-6 cm × 0.5 cm, margin subentire or sparingly serrate; inflorescence composed of terminal and axillary, leafy verticillasters, often congested towards the apex, forming a cluster of 1.5-2 cm in diameter, bracts linear, 3-4 mm long, puberulous, calyx obliquely turbinate, 5-7 mm long, in fruit 8-9 mm long, glabrescent, mouth oblique, slightly constricted, teeth 7-10, posterior one much longer than the others, corolla 10 mm long, tube with a hairy ring near the middle, upper lip oblong, woolly, lower lip patent; nutlets oblong, 2.5 mm × 1 mm, rounded at apex, inner surface angular, outer rounded, dark brown, pale at base. L. lavandulifolia is a weed of open waste places, coconut and other plantations, roadsides, grassland and arable land, fallow land, paddy dams, locally often numerous, from sea-level up to 1500 m altitude. An orthographic variant of lavandulifolia is "lavandulaefolia".

74,

• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948-1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India.405, 810.

Marfu’ah Wardani