Common Name:

General Information

Elsholtzia blanda is an erect, herbaceous perennial plant with stems that become more or less woody below and persist; it can grow around 100 - 150cm tall. The stems and branches are densely velvety[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and a food condiment. It is a potential commercial source of an essential oil.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, 451

Range

E. Asia - Nepal, northeastern India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, southeast China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia (Sumatera)

Habitat

Moist open places, open forests, ravines; at elevations from 800 - 2,500 metres[, ]. Forest edges, light forest, glades, open heathland; at elevations around 1,000 - 1,800 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	1.20 m
Pollinators	Bees, Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant is aromatic.

Edible Uses

The plant is used as a seasonng in foods[].
The seeds are pickled[].

Medicinal

The plant is used medicinally[]. It is analgesic, antiinflammatory, cardiac[]

Traditionally, the aerial parts of the plant are used in India for the treatment of conditions such as fever, cholera, skin diseases, and inflammation. In traditional Chinese medicine the plant is used in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery, respiratory diseases, nephritis, hepatitis, pharyngritis, and acute enteritis[, ].
The aroma of the crushed leaves is inhaled in order to clear the nostrils when suffering from a cold or cough[].
A paste made from the tender leaves, with common salt added, is applied to old wounds of cattle to clear pus and maggots[].

The juice of the plant is used in the treatment of headaches[].
Applied topically, the juice is used to treat cuts and wounds[].

The essential oil contains linalool and geranyl acetate as the main compounds. Luteolin, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, luteolin-3´-O-glucoside, and luteolin-7-O-glactoside have also been identified[]

Other Uses

An essential oil is obtained from the aerial parts of the plant[]. The leaves contain up to 2% essential oil[]. There are some citral-rich chemotypes of the plant with a high citral content between 75.2 - 83.5%. These citral-rich forms can be utilized as an alternative source of citral oil, neral, and geranial. - this oil has the potential to compete with commercial citral oils obtained from lemon grass, Cymbopogon flexuous[].

Propagation

Seed -