Argusia argentea (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Argusia argentea (L.f.) H. Heine

Family: Boraginaceae

Synonyms

• Tournefortia argentea L.f.,
• Messerschmidia argentea (L.f.) Johnston.
• Accepted name is now (2016): Heliotropium foertherianum Diane & Hilger (2003).

Vernacular names

• Velvet leaf (En)
• Indonesia: babakoan (West Java), karpo (Ternate), moral babulu (Ambon)
• Philippines: kapal-kapal (Tagalog), salakapo (Ilocano), bukabuk (Bisaya)
• Vietnam: bạc biển, phong ba.

Distribution

Around warmer parts of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, wild and cultivated.

Uses

Leaves have the taste of parsley and can be eaten raw. They are also dried and smoked like tobacco. In Vietnam the leaves are used as medicine against the venom of sea-snakes.

Observations

• Crooked tree or erect shrub, up to 10 m tall.
• Leaves alternate, obovate to lanceolate, 10-32 cm × 3-13 cm, fleshy, densely silvery hairy on both sides.

Typical along sandy seashores.

Selected sources

7, 20, 27, 44, 57.