Dicliptera laevigata (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Dicliptera laevigata (Vahl) Jussieu

Family: Acanthaceae

Synonyms

• Dicliptera javanica Nees,
• Justicia laevigata Vahl.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: pinten (Javanese), jukut jampang (Sundanese).

Distribution

Indonesia (eastern parts, Java).

Uses

Young shoots are eaten fresh or cooked as a vegetable. Sap from the leaves is used to cure dysentery.

Observations

• Annual, erect herb, up to 1 m tall.
• Leaves opposite, with linear cystoliths; petiole 1-4 cm long; leaf-blade ovate, elliptical or oblong, 5-12 cm × 2-7.5 cm, appressed pubescent on the nerves.
• Flowers pinkish, sometimes white.

In humid shady places, up to 1000 m altitude.

The identity of this (cultivated) Dicliptera species, eaten as a vegetable, is still unclear. It might also be D. chinensis (L.) Nees or D. burmannii Nees, two different species with a much wider distribution. The problem will only be solved after a thorough revision of the genus Dicliptera Jussieu.

Selected sources

7, 66.