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Useful Tropical Plants

Premna herbacea

Roxb.

Lamiaceae

+ Synonyms

Gumira herbacea (Roxb.) Kuntze

Premna acaulis (F.Muell.) Merr.

Premna angustifolia H.J.Lam

Premna macrophylla glaberrima Moldenke

Premna nana Collett & Hemsl.

Premna obovata Merr.

Premna sessilifolia H.J.Lam

Pygmaeopremna acaulis (F.Muell.) Moldenke

Pygmaeopremna herbacea (Roxb.) Moldenke

Pygmaeopremna humilis Merr.

Pygmaeopremna nana (Collett & Hemsl.) Moldenke

Pygmaeopremna sessilifolia (H.J.Lam) Moldenke

Tatea acaulis F.Muell.

Tatea herbacea (Roxb.) Junell

Tatea humilis (Merr.) Junell

Tatea subacaulis F.Muell.

Common Name:

Premna herbacea
Line drawing of the leaves, flowers and fruit
Photograph by: Flora of China Illustrations vol. 17, fig. 66, 1-3
Creative Commons License

General Information

Premna herbacea is a low-growing herbaceous perennial plant or a dwarf undershrub with stems up to 15 cm tall, occasionally to 30cm. Most of the stem is underground, the plant having a creeping woody rhizome, the above-ground part is slender and simple or with single dichotomous branching[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].
The plant is often harvested from the wild for local medicinal use and occasionally as a food. It is cultivated for medicinal use in India and Sri Lanka[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

266
Title
Flora of China
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis.
Year
1994
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.

Range

E. Asia - southern China, Indian subcontinent, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, Australia.

Habitat

A characteristic plant of open grasslands exposed to periodic fire[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
]. Dry places at elevations from 200 - 1,700 metres[
266
Title
Flora of China
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis.
Year
1994
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *  *
HabitPerennial
Height0.10 m
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

The ripe fruits are occasionally eaten[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
]. The black, obovoid-globose fruit is 5 - 10mm long[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].

Medicinal

The juice from roots and rhizomes is used in India to treat dropsy, cough, asthma, fever, rheumatism and cholera[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-10-13. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Premna+herbacea>

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