Coleus amboinicus Lour.

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
MEDICINAL PLANTS

Coleus amboinicus Lour.

Common Name: country borage

Family –Lamiaceae
Genus: Coleus
Species: amboinicus
Malayalam Name: Panikoorkka
Tamil Name: Karpuravalli
Synonyms:
Plectranthus amboinicus Lour.
Coleus aromaticus Benth.
Plant Description:
The stem is fleshy densely covered with soft, short and erect hairs. Old stems are smooth
Leaves are fleshy, simple, broad, egg/oval-shaped with a tapering tip. The margins are coarsely crenate to dentate-crenate except in the base. They are thickly studded with hairs and aromatic. Flowers are on a short stem, pale purplish, in dense 10-20 (or more) flowered dense whorls (cymes), at distant intervals, in a long slender spike-like raceme.
Uses:
Food: The leaves are used as a spice or herb to add flavor to meat, bean dishes, and salads. It has a flavor similar to oregano and thyme. The leaves can also be used to mask the strong flavors of fish, mutton, and goat.
Medicine: In traditional medicine, Coleus amboinicus is used to treat a variety of conditions, including inflammation, swelling, coughing, colds, fevers, asthma, headaches, constipation, and skin disease.
Antifungal: The volatile oils extracted from the plant have antifungal properties that can help protect stored foods from fungal contamination.
Insect repellent: The essential oils from the plant are toxic to some insects.
Ground cover: Coleus amboinicus can be used as a ground cover or grown in pots or hanging containers.
It is also grown as an ornamental plant.
Laundry and hair scent: Fresh leaves can be used to scent hair and laundry