Barleria prionitis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Barleria prionitis L.

Protologue: Sp. pl. 2: 636 (1753).

Synonyms

• Prionitis hystrix (L.) Miq. (1860).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: jarong kembang landep (Sundanese), landep (Javanese, Madurese)
• Malaysia: bunga landak
• Philippines: kolinta, kulanta, kokong-manok (Tagalog)
• Laos: dok man khay
• Thailand: khieo kaeo, angkaap nuu (central), mankai (northern)
• Vietnam: chông, gai kim hoang.

Distribution

Throughout Africa, eastwards to South-East Asia through Arabia, India and Pakistan. Pantropical in cultivation as an ornamental.

Uses

The leaves are diuretic and tonic and chewed for fever, rheumatism, liver diseases, indigestion with constipation, jaundice and urinary infections. An infusion of the roots and leaves is applied to boils and sores to reduce swellings, and also used for earache and headache.

Observations

• An erect, glabrescent, branched shrub, up to 1.7 m tall, with 2-4 axillary spines, 1-2 cm long; leaves ovate to elliptical, 2-12 cm long, base attenuate, apex pointed, petiole up to 1 cm long.
• Flowers axillary, solitary, up to 7 cm long, upper ones in short spikes, bracts lanceolate, 1-2.5 cm long, spine-tipped, bracteoles linear, 1-2 cm long, spinescent.
• Calyx lobes spine-tipped, corolla 2.5 cm across, tube 2.5 cm long, 4 lobes in the upper position, 1 in the lower, golden yellow or cream, fertile stamens 2, filaments exserted, staminodes 2, short.
• Capsule ovoid-conical, 2 cm long, beaked, 2-seeded.

B. prionitis occurs in the wild in thickets in waste places at low altitudes, and is sometimes becoming weedy.

Selected sources

• [135] Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A—H) pp. 1—1240, Vol. 2 (I—Z) pp. 1241—2444.
• [407] Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, 's-Gravenhage, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 1660 + CCXLI pp.
• [725] Nasir, E. & Ali, S.I. (Editors), 1970—1988. Flora of West Pakistan. No 1—188. Department of Botany, University of Karachi and National Herbarium, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad, Pakistan.
• [810] Quisumbing, E., 1978. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. 1262 pp.

Main genus page

• Barleria

Authors

• N.O. Aguilar