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Botany
· A gregarious,
erect or half-climbing, somewhat hairy aromatic shrub; when erect,
usually 1.2 m high and when scandent, twice as high. Branches
four-sided with recurved prickles.
· Leaves: elliptic, about 3 inches long and 1.5 inches
wides, pointed at the tip and rounded at the base and toothed
in the margins.
· Flowers: pink, orange, yellow, white, lilac and other
shades, according to the variety and borne in stalked heads which
are 2 to 3.5 cm in diameter. Calyx small. Corolla tube slender,
the limb spreading, 6 to 7 mm wide, and divided into unequal
lobes. Stamens 4, in 2 pairs, included. Ovary 2-celled, 2-ovuled.
· Fruits: Sweet tasting drupaceous fruit; purple or black,
fleshy ovoid, and about 5 mm long.
Other info
In some countries, considered
an invasive weed, earning the name, "Jekyll and Hyde of plants."
It releases chemicals in its surroundings, preventing germination of
the native flora. It is wont to form dense thickets, spreads very quickly,
with one plant producing as many as 12,000 seeds a year.
Distribution 
A gregarious weed in the
Philippines. Certain varieties are cultivated as a trimmed hedge either
alone or with other shrubs.
Constituents
Leaves: volatile
oil, 0.2%.
Dried flowers: volatile oil, 0.07% - caryophyllene-like bicyclic
terpene, 80%, l,a-phellandrene, 10-12%.
Bark: Lantanine, 0.08%.
Parts
utilized and preparation
· Leaves,
bark, roots, flowering tops.
· May be collected throughout the year.
· Sun-dry.
Characteristics
and Pharmacological Effects
· Root:
sweet and bitter tasting, refrigerant, antifebrile.
· Leaves: minty tasting, cooling natured, antiphlogistic,
anti-dermatoses.
· Flowers: sweet tasting, mildly cooling, hemostatic.
Folkloric
uses
· Influenza,
cough, mumps, incessant high fever, malaria, cervical lymph node
tuberculosis: use 30 to 60 gms dried roots or 60 to 120 gms fresh
roots in decoction.
· Fever: Take decoction of bark or infusion of leaves
and flowering tops as tea.
· Hemoptysis, pulmonary tuberculosis: use 6 to 9 gms dried
flowers in decoction.
· Dermatitis, eczema, pruritus: use fresh stems and leaves.
· Rheumatism - Spread oil on leaves, warm over low flame
and apply on affected part.
· Sprains, wounds, contusions: Use pounded fresh leaves
applied as poultice.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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