Justicia procumbens
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Annual
- Exposure
- Full sun
Cultivation
We have almost no information on this species and do not know if it will be successful in Britain, though it should succeed if grown as a half-hardy annual.
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts.
Edible uses
Young leaves - boiled. Seed - cooked. It is usually made into a flour.
Medicinal uses
The plant is alterative, anthelmintic, antiphlogistic, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge and laxative. The juice of the leaves is used in ophthalmia. The juice of the root is used in the treatment of coughs where blood is being coughed up.
Habitat
Cultivated fields and waste ground in lowland C. and S. Japan.
Native range
E. Asia - Himalayas to China, Japan and Korea.