Strobilanthes tonkinensis

Strobilanthes tonkinensis is a member of the family Acanthaceae, native to Yunnan province of China, and is also distributed in Thailand and Vietnam. It has been widely used as natural herbal tea and spices in the Southern part of China, which has a distinctive fragrance or strong odor reminiscent of basmati rice or pandan leaves. In North Sumatra, Indonesia, by Karonese people, it is one of the ingredients of traditional massage oil called "Minyak Karo".

 Nuo mi xiang (Chinese).

Strobilanthes tonkinensis grows in moist forests, with the elevation of 200-1,500 m.

• Stems - pubescent, 4-angled, glabrescent, fragrant when dry. Petiole to 2 cm, pubescent.
• Leaves - leaf blade broadly oblong-elliptic, to 18.5 × 6 cm, both surfaces sparsely pubescent especially on veins, adaxially with prominent cystoliths, secondary veins 4-7 on each side of midvein, base cuneate and decurrent onto petiole, margin crenate, apex acute.
• Flowers - inflorescences terminal, simple spikes, 3-11 cm, sometimes with branches arising in apical leaf axils; rachis pubescent with gland-tipped trichomes, sparsely pubescent and gland-tipped pubescent, densely covered with white cystoliths, 1-veined; bracteoles linear, 5 × 1 mm, pubescent, abaxially densely covered with cystoliths. Calyx 5-lobed to base, subequal, pubescent, outside covered with prominent cystoliths. Corolla pink to pure white, 3.2 cm, straight, outside glabrous, inside glabrous except for trichomes retaining style; tube basally cylindric, lobes orbicular. Stamens 4, included; shorter filament pair 4 mm, glabrous. Ovary obovoid, 3 mm, gland-tipped pilose at tip, glabrous.
• Fruit - capsule narrowly oblong-obovoid, 8-10 × 2.5 mm, gland-tipped pilose, 4-seeded, apex apiculate.
• Seeds - ovate in outline,  2 × 2 mm, pubescent; areola small, glabrous.

Vegetatively propagated by tissue culture.

Tritepenes (squalene), 79 kind of volatile compounds [the main part compounds are 1-(3, 4, 5, 6-tetrahydro-2-pyridyl)-1-propanone, and 1-(1, 4, 5, 6-tetrahydro-2-pyridyl)-1-propanone].

• Study showed antiviral, antitumor, anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant activities.
• Good in health promotion. In China, it is used as herbal tea, and In Indonesia, it is used in traditional massage oil.