amboinicus rarely flowers and seeds are difficult to collect. Seeds are smooth, pale-brown, roundish flattened, 0.7 mm (0.028 in) long and 0.5 mm (0.020 in) wide. Nutlets are initially green turning to pale brown as they mature. Flowering normally takes place from August till November.įertile flowers are followed by smooth nut lets that are 0.7 mm long and 0.5 mm wide. Trumpet-like widened limb 2-lipped, upper lip short, erect, puberulent, lower lip long and concave. Corolla is blue, curved and declinate, 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) long and tube is 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long.

The bell shaped calyx is campanulate, 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long, hirsute and glandular, sub equally 5-toothed, upper tooth broadly ovate-oblong, obtuse, abruptly acute, lateral and lower teeth acute. The bracts are broadly ovate, 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in) long, acute. Rachis is 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in), fleshy and pubescent. The corolla is pale purplish and five times longer than the calyx, with a short tube, inflated throat and short lips.įlowers are on a short stem, pale purplish in dense, 10-20 (or more) flowered dense whorl (cymes) at distant intervals in a long slender spike-like raceme. Flowers have a bell shaped calyx and the throat is smooth inside with two lips, the upper lip being ovate and thin, the lower lip having four narrow teeth. The taste of this leaf is pleasantly aromatic with an agreeable and refreshing odor.įlowers are on a short stem (shortly pedicelled), pale purplish in dense whorls at distant intervals in a long slender raceme. They are pubescent (thickly studded with hairs), with the lower surface possessing the most numerous glandular hairs, giving a frosted appearance.

The margins are coarsely crenate to dentate-crenate except in the base. Leaves are undivided (simple), broadly ovate to sub orbicular with a tapering tip (ovate) and very thick. This sprawling large succulent herb is fleshy and highly aromatic. Stem is fleshy, about 30–90 cm (12–35 in), either with long rigid hairs (hispidly villous) or densely covered with soft, short and erect hairs. The species is tolerant of some shade, preferring fertile, well-drained soils in partially shaded areas. It is known to grow in rocky, loamy or sandy soil. The plant is found growing in woodland or coastal bush, on rocky slopes, loamy or sandy flats, roadsides, waste places and river banks. Indian Borage is a sprawling and somewhat succulent attractive, aromatic evergreen perennial herb that grows about 1 m (3.3 ft.) tall and even more in width in the wild. It is not true oregano in the family, Origanum, but has a scent characteristic of the true oreganos. The species epithet “amboinicus” is derived from Ambon, an island in the East Indies where Rumphius, a well-known botanist, is from. Due to lack of precise morphological features to differentiate species within the genus Plectranthus and its closely associated genera, numerous taxonomic problems with the naming of species have resulted in misplacement of species in some closely linked genera such as Coleus, Solenostemon and Englerastrum. The name Plectranthus derives from the Greek words “plectron”, meaning spur, and “Anthos”, meaning flower, in reference to the spur-shaped flowers of some members of the genus. Few of the popular common names of Indian Borage includes Cuban oregano, Country borage, French thyme, Indian borage, Indian mint, Mexican mint, Soup mint, Spanish thyme, Thick leaf thyme, broad leaf thyme, Mexican Mint, Coleus amboinicus, poor man pork or broad leaf thyme, queen of herbs, three-in-one herb, allherb, mother of herbs and orielle.

It is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere in the tropics where it is used as a traditional medicine, spice, and ornamental plant. The plant is native to Southern and Eastern Africa, from South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal) and Swaziland to Angola and Mozambique and north to Kenya and Tanzania. Plectranthus amboinicus, once recognized as Coleus amboinicus, is a semi-succulent perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae which includes common herbs such as basil, mint, oregano, sage, rosemary, and thyme with a pungent oregano-like flavor and odor.

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