Clerodendrum indicum (L.) Kuntze
Family
Verbenaceae
Synonyms
C. siphonanthus R.Br., C. fortunatum Blume ex Hassk.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Ganja ganja, penatoh. |
| Indonesia | Genje (Sundanese), sekar petak (Javanese), ringgo dipo (Palembang). |
| Thailand | Thao yaai mom (Central), phayaa raak dieo (Peninsular), leng chon tai (Northern). |
| Vietnam | ng[oj]c n[uwx] [aas]n d[ooj]. |
Geographical Distributions
Clerodendrum indicum is a native to India and Nepal, eastward to Burma (Myanmar), southern China, Indo-China, Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia; naturalised in Indonesia, Madagascar, southern USA, West Indies and northern South America.
Description
C. indicum is a shrub or treelet that can reach up to measure 3 m tall. It is sometimes suffrutescent or even herbaceous and stoloniferous. The stems are usually very straight or arching, mostly unbranched, hollow and annulate nodes (except the younger ones).
The leaves are linear-lance-shaped to oblanceolate, measuring 7.5-23 cm x 0.7-5.5 cm, attenuate to acute base, acute or acuminate apex, mostly entire, hairless on both surfaces and with measure 0.3-0.8 cm long sessile or petiole. The axillary cymes are solitary or whorled, measure 4-6 cm long and with 3-7-flowered. The terminal panicle is up to measure 45 cm x 25 cm and composed of 3-12 whorls of cymes. The sepal is very broadly bell-shaped, measuring 5-7 mm long tube and deeply 5-lobed. The lobes are measure 6-10 mm long. The green or red petal is hypocrateriform, with long tube and slender. It is measuring 7.5-14 cm long, measuring 0.8-1.5 cm long lobes, white to yellow in colour, showy but not fragrant. The purple stamens are long exserted. The fruiting sepal is accrescent to measure 3 cm in diametre. It is red to purple in colour.
The drupe is measure 1-1.3 cm in diametre. It is bright green that turns to blue-black or reddish-black in colour.
Ecology / Cultivation
C. indicum easily escapes cultivation through its stolons. In Java cultivated from sea-level up to 1200 m altitude; naturalised in grassy, sunny or slightly shaded localities near human settlements from sea-level up to 500 m altitude.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 12 (2): Medicinal and poisonous plants.
