Leucas cephalotes
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| Leucas cephalotes | ||||||||||||||
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| Leucas cephalotes (Roth) Spreng. |
The flowering annual herb Leucas cephalotes is a common weed which also has uses as an edible vegetable and herbal remedy. It has many common names, including guma, dronpushpi or drona puspi, and tou xu bai rong cao. It is a common plant across Asia from China to the Indian subcontinent.
L. cephalotes springs up in cultivated fields as a weed, especially after a period of rain. It is collected for use as a leafy vegetable in rural areas. It is cultivated itself for its medicinal uses and is readily available in markets. One of the plant's most common historical uses has been as a treatment for snakebite. It is also steeped in water which is then used for bathing and for washing livestock.
Two biologically active compounds found in the plant are labellenic acid and beta sitosterol.
