Coleus amboinicus
Coleus amboinicus Lour.
| Order | Lamiales |
|---|---|
| Family | Lamiaceae |
| Genus | Coleus |
2n = 34
Origin : East and Southern Africa
wild or cultivated
| English | Indian borage |
|---|---|
| French | gros thym |
- medicinal
- condiment herb
- ornamental
Contents
Description
Potted plant
leaves
flowers
flowers
flower
- succulent herbaceous, aromatic, usually less than 1 m tall
- ovate leaves, obtuse point, subcordate base, crenate margins, pubescent
- flowers in tomentose whorls forming a spike of 10 to 30 cm; tomentose calyx, with long oblong and horizontal upper lip, ; whitish, pinkish or lilac-colored corolla
Popular names
| English | country borage, Indian borage ; Cuban oregano, Indian borage, Indian mint, Mexican mint, Mexican oregano, Spanish thyme (Flowers of India) |
| French | gros thym antillais, origan cubain ; oreille (Haïti) (Mansfeld) ; thym pays ; gros baume, ti baume (Réunion) |
| Guyanese Creole | grosse menthe [gros-mant], gros thym, thym pays [ten-péyi] (Pharma. Guyane) |
| West Indian Creole | gros bitin [gro-biten] (Pharma. Guyane) |
| Spanish | orégano francés (Cuba), orégano grueso (Quintana Roo, Mexique), orégano orejón (Vénézuela) (TRAMIL) ; orégano de Cartagena (Cuba) (Mansfeld) |
| Sanskrit | कर्पूरवल्ली - karpuravalli, sugandhavalakam (Flowers of India) |
| Hindi | पत्थरचूर - patharchur, पत्ता अजवाइन - patta ajwain (Flowers of India) |
| Marathi | पत्थरचूर - pathurchur (Flowers of India) |
| Telugu | sugandhavalkam, కర్పూరవల్లీ - karpoora valli, karuvaeru, vamu aaku (Flowers of India) |
| Tamoul | கர்பூரவல்லீ - karpuravalli (Flowers of India) |
| Kannada | ಕರ್ಪೂರವಲ್ಲಿ - karpuravalli, ದೊಡ್ಡಪತ್ರೆ - dodda pathre, ದೊಡ್ಡಪತ್ರೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು - dodda pathre soppu (Flowers of India) |
| Malayalam | panikkurkka, kannikkurkka (Flowers of India) |
| Manipuri | ꯃꯅꯥ ꯍꯤꯗꯥꯛ - mana hidak (Flowers of India) |
| Philippines | oregano (espagnol), suganda (tagalog), latai (subanun) (PROSEA) |
| Indonesian | daun jinten (général), ajeran (sundanais), daun kucing (javanais) (PROSEA) |
| Malaysian | bangun-bangun, membangun (péninsule) (PROSEA) |
| Thai | niam hu suea (centre), hom duan luang, hom duan hu suea (nord) (PROSEA) |
| Vietnamese | rau tần, rau tần dầy lá, húng chanh (PROSEA) |
| Cambodian | sak dam ray (PROSEA) |
Classification
Coleus amboinicus Lour. (1790)
synonyms :
- Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng. (1825)
- Plectranthus aromaticus auct. non Roxb. (1814), sensu Roxb. (1832)
Cultivars
Numerous cultivars and hybrids, making the species difficult to identify. An ornamental cultivar has creamy white-edged leaves.
History
Uses
Cultivated as a medicinal plant, potherb and condiment in the tropics (parts of Africa, India, SE Asia, West Indies, Mexico, recently southern USA). The aromatic leaves are used for flavouring meat, soups, fish, local beer, eaten as a vegetable, employed for washing clothes and hair. The herb is a folk remedy (poultice for burns and bites, internally as a carminative and antiasthma). Also grown for its essential oil in the Far East and as an ornamental plant.
Scent of thyme or oregano
The aromatic leaves are used to fill or flavor meats. They are a substitute for sage and borage (Purseglove, 1968).
References
- Grenand, Pierre ; Moretti, Christian ; Jacquemin, Henri & Prévost, Marie-Françoise, 2004. Pharmacopées traditionnelles en Guyane. Créoles, Wayãpi, Palikur. 2e édition revue et complétée. Paris, IRD. 816 p. (1ère éd.: 1987). See on Pl@ntUse.
- Nakab, Jessica, 2019. Contribution aux études ethnobotanique et phytochimique des espèces Plectranthus neochilus et P. amboinicus de l’île de La Réunion. Thèse Marseille, Sciences pharmaceutiques. online.
- Purseglove J.W., 1968. Tropical crops: Dicotyledons. Harlow (U.K.), Longman. 2 vol., XV-719 p.
- TRAMIL, Pharmacopée végétale caribéenne, éd. scient. L. Germosén-Robineau. 2014. 3e éd. Santo Domingo, Canopé de Guadeloupe. 420 p. See on Pl@ntUse
