Family • Rubiaceae - Metabolus caeruleus Blume
Scientific names |
|
Hedyotis costata (Roxb.) Kurz | Metabolus lineatus Bartl. |
Hedyotis vestita R. Br. ex G. Don | Spermacoce costata Roxb. |
Hedyotis capituloiflora Miq. | Mai er cao (Chin.) |
Metabolus caeruleus Blume |
Common names |
No local name |
Botany
Hedyotis costata is a rather coarse, spreading, diffuse, villous herb 30 to 60 centimeters long. Leaves are petioled, elliptic-lanceolate, 5 to 11 centimeters long, and 1 to 3 centimeters wide. Cymes are villous, small, borne in the axils of the leaves, and furnished with short stalks under 1.5 centimeters long. Flowers are very small, white, and crowded in small heads. Fruit is a capsule, small, rounded and hairy.
Distribution
– In open grasslands and thickets at low altitudes in Rizal, Laguna, Camarines, and Sorsogon Provinces in Luzon; and in Culion, Busuanga, Palawan, and Mindanao.
– Also occurs in India, and through Malaya to the Moluccas.
Parts used
Roots.
Uses
Folkloric
Roots boiled made into a lotion for rheumatism.
Availability
Wild-crafted.