Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) • Earth.com

Headache tree

(Premna serratifolia)

galery
en

Description

Premna serratifolia is a small tree/shrub in the family Lamiaceae. It flowers and fruits between May and November. During flowering season, it attracts a large number of butterflies and bees. Synonyms of Premna serratifolia Linn. include P. corymbosa (Burm. f.) Merr., P. integrifolia L. and P. obtusifolia R. Br.). Trees, to 7 m high. Leaves simple, opposite, estipulate; petiole 4–14 mm, slender, pubescent, grooved above; lamina 2.5-8.5 x 2–7.2 cm, elliptic, elliptic-oblong, base acute, obtuse, subcordate or rounded, apex acuminate, mucronate, obtuse, margin entire or subserrate, glabrous above except along the appressed midrib, chartaceous; lateral nerves 3-5 pair, pinnate, prominent, puberulous beneath; intercostae reticulate, obscure. Flowers bisexual, greenish-white, in terminal corymbose panicled cymes; bracts small; calyx small campanulate, 2 lipped, 5 lobed; corolla tube short, villous inside, lobes 5; stamens 4, didynamous, inserted below the throat of the corolla tube; anther ovate; ovary superior, 2-4-celled, ovules 4; style linear; stigma shortly bifid. Fruit a drupe, seated on the calyx, globose, purple; seeds oblong. It mostly grow in moist sandy soil and scrub jungles along seacoasts and mangrove forests. In the Philippines, particularly in Cebu Island, it is usually found in the interior, watery forests of Southern Cebu. The plant is extensively used in Indian traditional medicine. Studies on the root wood of P. serattifolia led to the isolation of acteoside, a glucoside derivative. The root bark of the plant which showed biological activities have also shown to contain a potent cytotoxic and antioxidant diterpene, 11,12,16-trihydroxy-2-oxo-5-methyl-10-demethyl-abieta-1,6, 8,11,13-pentene. In Vietnam, the aromatic leaves of P. serratifolia are called lá cách, and are used to cook in some braise or stir fry dishes with chicken, eels or frogs. Premna is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, first described for modern science in 1771. It is widespread through tropical and subtropical regions in Africa, southern Asia, northern Australia, and various islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order:Lamiales
Family:Lamiaceae
Genus:Premna
News coming your way
The biggest news about our planet delivered to you each day