Scutellaria discolor (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Scutellaria discolor Wallich ex Benth.

Protologue: Wallich, Pl. asiat. rar. 1: 66 (1830).

Synonyms

• Scutellaria cyrtopoda Miq. (1859),
• Scutellaria heteropoda Miq. (1859),
• Scutellaria zollingeriana Briq. (1898).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: jawer kotok (Sundanese), amperu lemah (Javanese), daun kukur (Moluccas)
• Malaysia: nilam bukit (Peninsular), toma (Sakai, Peninsular)
• Vietnam: thuẫn nhiều màu.

Distribution

From northern India and Nepal to Burma (Myanmar), Indo-China, southern China, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands, the Moluccas and New Guinea.

Uses

In Java, S. discolor has been used to treat pain in the loins. In China, it is applied as a folk remedy for colds, fever, sore throat, and enteritis.

Observations

• A small herb up to 50(-100) cm tall, stems hirsute, usually simple.
• Leaves broadly elliptical to rounded or rarely ovate, (3.5-)4-6(-11) cm × (2-)2.5-5(-10) cm, base rounded to cordate, margin coarsely crenate, sparsely pubescent to hirsute; bracts 1-3 mm long.
• Flowers in small false whorls of 2-4(-5), in a simple, terminal, all-sided raceme of 5-24 cm long, glandular pubescent, corolla blue or pale blue to purple-violet, 9-12 mm long.

S. discolor is subdivided into three varieties: var. hirta Handel-Mazzetti occurring in Yunnan (China), var. cyrtopoda (Miq.) Adelb. found at 1600-3200 m altitude in Java, and var. discolor occurring throughout the range of S. discolor. It is found in grassland along streams, shady and moist places in rain forest, in Irian Jaya in oak forest, in Timor on limestone in Podocarpus forest, up to 2400(-3200) m altitude.

Selected sources

• [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.
• [287] Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948-1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India.
• [580] 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.
• [720] Keng, H., 1978. Labiatae. In: van Steenis, C.G.G.J. (General editor): Flora Malesiana. Series 1, Vol. 8. Sijthoff & Noordhoff International Publishers, Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. pp. 301-394.
• [854] Li, H.-W. & Hedge, I.C., 1994. Lamiaceae (Labiatae). In: Wu, Z.-Y. & Raven, P.H. (Editors): Flora of China. Vol. 17. Science Press, Beijing, China & Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, United States. pp. 50-299.
• [1118] Paton, A., 1990. The phytogeography of Scutellaria L. Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 46: 345-359.
• [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.
• [1461] Tomimori, T., Miyaichi, Y., Imoto, Y., Kizu, H. & Namba T., 1985. Studies on the Nepalese crude drugs V. On the flavonoid constituents of the root of Scutellaria discolor 1. Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin (Tokyo) 33(10): 4457-4463.
• [1462] Tomimori, T., Miyaichi, Y., Imoto, Y., Kizu, H. & Namba T., 1986. Studies on the Nepalese crude drugs VI. On the flavonoid constituents of the root of Scutellaria discolor 2. Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin (Tokyo) 34(1): 406-408.
• [1463] Tomimori, T., Miyaichi, Y., Imoto, Y., Kizu, H. & Namba T., 1988. Studies on the Nepalese crude drugs XI. On the flavonoid constituents of the aerial parts of Scutellaria discolor Colebr. Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin (Tokyo) 36(9): 3654-3658.
• [1476] Tran Dinh Ly, 1993. 1900 Loai cay co ich o Viet nam [1900 useful plant species in Vietnam]. Hanoi, Vietnam. 544 pp.

Main genus page

• Scutellaria (Medicinal plants)

Authors

• H.P. Hernandez