Botany
Dilang-usa is an erect, branched and hairy annual herb, 30 to 70 centimeters in height. Leaves are hairy, oblong to lanceolate, 5 to 12 centimeters long, on short stalks, pointed at both ends. The hairs on the upper surface of the blade arise from tubercles. Flowers are borne on long stalks, in axillary or terminal racemes, of four or five flowers. Calyx is densely hairy, about 1 centimeter long in the flower. Corolla is pale blue, about 1.3 centimeters in diameter.

Distribution
- A weed found in cultivated areas and waste places at low altitude.
- Found in Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Pampanga, Rizal and Quezon Provinces in Luzon.
- Also occurs in tropical Asia to Mauritius, Malaya, tropical Australia, to eastern tropical Africa.

Constituents
- Yield a low toxic alkaloid supinine.

Properties
- Sudorific and pectoral.
- Considered emollient, demulcent and diuretic.
- Seeds contain 30% oil.
- Roots considered analgesic and healing.

Parts used
Leaves, roots,

Uses
Edibililty
• In Malawi, leaves cooked as a side dish.
Folkloric
• Leaves are used as emollient poultice.
• In Ayurveda, used for treatment of leucoderma and piles.
• Powdered root applied to painful ulcers.
• In Tanzania, oil is used for its emollient and soothing properties.
• In Malawi, used for stomach ailments and indigestion. Infusion of leaves and roots used for intestinal worms, coughing, chest complaints, itching and throat pains. Root scrapings used for wound dressing.
• In Madagascar, decoction of leaves used as emollient, demulcent and diuretic. Decoction of flowers used as sudorific and diuretic. Externally, powdered root used as analgesic when applied to wounds and skin infections.
• Roots used for bilharzia, swelling of lymph glands, coughing, toothache and abdominal pains.
• In southern India, leaf of the plant is mixed with the rhizome of Glycyrrhiza glabra, stem of Canna indica and stem bark of Punica granatum, then ground into a paste and applied topically to heal wounds.
• In Western Ghats, fresh leaves are roasted with Allium cepa in coconut oil and made into curry. The curry is taken before meals twice daily for four to five days to treat bleeding piles.

Concerns
Some reports contend it is poisonous to stock.

Availability
Wildcrafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Trikantaka, Indian Medicinal Plants
(2)
Taxonomic perspective of plant species yielding vegetable oils used in cosmetics and skin care products / African Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 4, No. 1, January 2005, pp. 36-44
(3)
Chewa medical botany: a study of herbalism in southern Malawi / Brian Morris
(4)
Herbal medicines for wound healing among tribal people in Southern India: Ethnobotanical and Scientific evidences / Ayyanar M, Ignacimuthu S / International Journal of Applied Research in Natural Products Vol. 2(3), pp. 29-42, Sep-Oct 2009
(5)
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in plants used in the traditional medicine of Madagascar and the Mascarene islands / E Roeder, H Wiedenfeld / Pharmazeutisches Institut der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn, Germany
(6)
Ethnomedicinal plants used by Kanikkars of Agasthiarmalai Biosphere Reserve, Western Ghats / S. Lalitha Rani, V. Kalpana Devi, P. Tresina Soris, A. Maruthupandian and V.R. Mohan / Journal of Ecobiotechnology 2011, 3(7): 16-25

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Trikantaka, Indian Medicinal Plants
(2)
Taxonomic perspective of plant species yielding vegetable oils used in cosmetics and skin care products / African Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 4, No. 1, January 2005, pp. 36-44