Ixora chinensis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Ixora chinensis Lamk

Protologue: Encycl. 3: 344 (1789).

Synonyms

• Ixora stricta Roxb. (1820).

Vernacular names

• Chinese ixora (En)
• Indonesia: kembang soka, siantan
• Malaysia: jarum-jarum merah, pechah priok, siantan hutan (Peninsular)
• Philippines: santan (Tagalog, Bikol), santan-pula, santan-tsina (Tagalog)
• Cambodia: kam rontea
• Vietnam: dơn dỏ, bộng trang dỏ.

Distribution

Southern Burma (Myanmar), Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo; cultivated in Java, the Philippines and elsewhere.

Uses

In Malaysia a decoction of the root is used after childbirth. In the Philippines an infusion of the fresh flowers is said to be a remedy against incipient tuberculosis and haemorrhage. An infusion of leaves or flowers is used against headache. In Indonesia, a decoction of the roots is used against bronchial disorders; a decoction of the flowers is prescribed in amenorrhoea and hypertension. I. chinensis is widely cultivated as an ornamental.

Observations

• A shrub with many stems, up to 2 m tall.
• Leaves obovate-oblong, 6-10 cm × 2.5-5 cm, coriaceous, base rounded, cordate or sometimes obtuse, apex obtuse, petiole short, stipules long-awned.
• Branchlets of inflorescence opposite, red.
• Flowers with corolla tube 3-3.5 cm long, lobes circular-obovate, broadly rounded at apex, 6 mm × 6 mm, orange-red or white (cultivated plants only), not fragrant.
• Fruit globose, black.

I. chinensis is reportedly common on river banks in Peninsular Malaysia.

Selected sources

• [97] Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1963) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
• [182] Bremekamp, C.E.B., 1937. The Malaysian species of the genus Ixora (Rub.). Contributions à l'étude de la flore des Indes Néerlandaises XXXIV. Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg, Série III, 14: 197-367.
• [202] 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.
• [427] Fosberg, F.R. & Sachet, H.H., 1989. Three cultivated Ixoras (Rubiaceae). Baileya 23(2): 74-85.
• [625] Hsu, H-J., Chen, Y-P. & Hong, M., 1982. The chemical constituents of oriental herbs. Vol. 1. Oriental Healing Arts Institute, Scotts Valley, California, United States. 619 pp.
• [768] Koorders, S.H. & Valeton, T., 1894-1915. Bijdrage tot de kennis der boomsoorten van Java [Contribution to the knowledge of the tree species of Java]. 13 parts. G. Kolff & Co., Batavia, Dutch East Indies, 's-Gravenhage, the Netherlands.
• [1126] Perry, L.M., 1980. Medicinal plants of East and Southeast Asia. Attributed properties and uses. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States & London, United Kingdom. 620 pp.
• [1178] Quisumbing, E., 1978. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. 1262 pp.
• [1227] Ridley, H.N., 1922-1925. The flora of the Malay Peninsula. 5 volumes. Government of the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States. L. Reeve & Co, London, United Kingdom.
• [1572] Wijayakusuma, H.M.H., Wirian, S.W., Yaputra, T., Dalimartha, S. & Wibowo, B., 1992. Tanaman berkhasiat obat di Indonesia [Plants yielding medicine in Indonesia]. Vol. 1. Pustaka Kartini, Jakarta, Indonesia. 122 pp.
• [1591] Wong, K.M., 1989. Ixora Linn. In: Ng, F.S.P. (Editor): Tree flora of Malaya. Vol. 4. Longman Malaysia, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. pp. 356-364.

Main genus page

• Ixora (Medicinal plants)

Authors

• M.C. Ysrael & J.L.C.H. van Valkenburg