Barleria cristata
Encyclopedia
Barleria cristata is a plant
of the Acanthaceae
family.
and Myanmar
.
Cultivated as an ornamental plant
in villages and gardens, it has become naturalized in Hawaii
, where it grows in dry habitats. In Fiji
, where it is known as "tombithi" and in Christmas Island
(Indian Ocean), the shrub grows also as a ruderal species along roadsides and disturbed areas from near sea level to about 100 m.
The flowers are about 5 cm long, funnel-shaped in violet, pink, or white color. The fruits are about 1.5 cm long ellipsoid capsules. Thy become glabrous and glossy at maturity.
as a traditional herbal remedy. It allegedly acts as a tonic, diuretic and blood purifier.
In Tamilnadu in South India
, it is known as December Poo or December Flower as it blooms in December and is normally strung into garlands of flowers for women to wear in their hair.
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
of the Acanthaceae
Acanthaceae
The family Acanthaceae is a taxon of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species....
family.
Distribution and habitat
It is native to a wide area raanging from Southern China to IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
.
Cultivated as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
in villages and gardens, it has become naturalized in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, where it grows in dry habitats. In Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, where it is known as "tombithi" and in Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
(Indian Ocean), the shrub grows also as a ruderal species along roadsides and disturbed areas from near sea level to about 100 m.
Description
It grows as a shrub 60 -100 cm tall. The leaves are dark green on the upper surface and pale green on the lower surface. They are elliptic to narrowly ovate.The flowers are about 5 cm long, funnel-shaped in violet, pink, or white color. The fruits are about 1.5 cm long ellipsoid capsules. Thy become glabrous and glossy at maturity.
Uses
Known as อังกาบ, this plant is used in ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
as a traditional herbal remedy. It allegedly acts as a tonic, diuretic and blood purifier.
In Tamilnadu in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
, it is known as December Poo or December Flower as it blooms in December and is normally strung into garlands of flowers for women to wear in their hair.