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Tsaang-gubat
Common names: Putputai (Bikol); alangit
(Bisaya); forest tea, wild tea.
Indications and preparations: Pills, leaf decoction for
gastroenteritis; as gargle to prevent cavities.
Family: Boraginaceae (Borage family) |
click here for enlarged picture |
| Description: |
Shrub or much-branched small tree 1 – 4 m tall. Leaves
simple, coarse, alternate, toothed towards the apex, gradually narrowing towards base,
sometimes two or three arising from the same point. Flowers white, small, axillary, one to
four from a common stalk. Fruit round, 4 – 5 mm in diameter, yellow-orange when ripe. |
| Ecological distribution: |
In secondary forests at low and medium altitudes. Sometimes
cultivated as ornamentals. |
Parts used:
|
Leaves. |
| Traditional uses: |
Substitute for tea; for stomach ache, diarrhea, dysentery; as
antidote for plant-based poisoning; to stop bleeding from snakebites; as body cleanser
after childbirth. |
| Product available: |
tablets, capsules herbal tea. |
| Further information in: |
de Padua,L.S., N. Bunyapraphatsara, R.H.M.J. Lemmens
(Editors). 1999. Plant Resources of South East Asia 12(1) Medicinal and Poisonous Plants.
Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, the Netherlands.771 pp. |
| Or contact: |
RED Foundation Inc., Los Baņos, Laguna 4031 Philippines Tel
no. (63) (049) 536 0205. |
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