Plectranthus amboinicus is an attractive, evergreen perennial plant with lemon-scented, thick, succulent, sprawling stems and fleshy leaves; it can grow 50 - 100cm tall. The lower parts of the stems become more or less woody.
The plant is harvested from the wild, mainly for local use as food and medicine. It is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental and also for medicinal uses and for its edible leaves, which are particularly popular in Mexico and parts of the Caribbean.

Known Hazards

None known

Habitat

Roadsides, waste places and on river banks; at elevations up to 1,500 metres.

Cultivation Status

Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Plectranthus amboinicus ranges from warm temperate areas with dry, mild winters to tropical areas with dry to wet climates.
It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 28°C, but can tolerate 10 - 36°C.
It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,000 - 2,600mm, but tolerates 700 - 4,000mm.
Succeeds in full sun or shade.
Prefers fertile, well-drained soil in partial shade.
A rampant-growing, creeping plant that does well in woodland.
Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 6.5, tolerating 5 - 7.
The plant is widely cultivated for ornament, food, and medicines. It sometimes escapes from cultivation and becomes naturalized on disturbed ground.
It can form dense carpets in shaded dry forest and is said to be invasive on some Pacific Islands.
There is at least one named variety.

Edible Uses

Leaves - raw or cooked. They have an oregano-like aroma.
Occasionally used as a potherb, and sometimes eaten raw with bread and butter.
More commonly used as a flavoring in recipes calling for mixed herbs or oregano, and to spice dishes containing tomato sauces.
The leaves can be chopped, made into flour balls, and fried in oil.
A very strong, aromatic flavor, so it should be used sparingly.
A tea can be made from the leaves.

Medicinal

Country borage is a strongly aromatic herb with a sage-like flavor.
Known to reduce inflammation, though little else is known of its effects.
The antibacterial and antiseptic properties of the plant are attributed to compounds including carvacrol, codeine, flavones, phenols, tannins, and aromatic acids.
Leaves have bronchodilator activity and anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis activity.
The plant has antimicrobial activity, with reports of antiviral activity against Herpes simplex virus-1, and anti-HIV inhibition activity.
The leaves are antibacterial, antitussive, and febrifuge.
Used internally for digestive problems such as dyspepsia, indigestion, diarrhea, and wind.
An infusion or syrup of aromatic leaves is used to treat coughs.
Leaves treat a wide range of complaints including epilepsy, convulsions, meningitis, congestive heart failure, fevers, colds, bronchitis, asthma, cholera, menstrual pains, labor pains, delayed labor, post-partum pain, and aid in expulsion of the afterbirth.
Frequently utilized in the treatment of urinary diseases in the Amazon and India.
Reported to relieve kidney troubles, treat vaginal discharges, and drunk after childbirth.
Applied externally treats headaches, inflammations, skin allergies, wounds, burns, sores, and ulcers.
When rubbed on the skin, they quickly relieve bites and stings.
Harvested as required and used fresh.
The seed oil treats acute edematous otitis acuta in Polynesia, and in India leaves rubbed onto the eyes alleviate conjunctivitis.
Cytotoxic and anti-tumor promoting activity treat cancer.
Treats snakebites.
Anti-inflammatory treats stiff neck and backache.

Agroforestry Uses

None Recorded

Other Uses

Spicy fresh leaves scent laundry and hair.
Rubbed into hair and body after bathing.
Preparations of leaves wash clothes and hair.
Rubbed on body repels insects.
Essential oil rich in carvacrol.
Essential oil from leaves and stems conditions skin in commercial cosmetic preparations.

Propagation

Seed - sow in well-drained soil, lightly covered with a thin layer of sand, and place in a warm but shaded spot. Germinates in about three weeks.
Cuttings - very easy, shoots in a pot of water root quickly.
Division.