Japanese name: パチョリ Scientific name:Pogostemon cablin
[Overview]
A perennial about 80 cm tall with a shrubby form.
The stems branch from the base, are square in cross section, and are densely covered with fine hairs.
The leaves are simple and opposite, broadly elliptic, 8–10 cm long, wavy, with irregular doubly serrate margins.
The undersides of the leaves have fine hairs.
Verticillasters 5–15 cm long are borne at the branch tips, and flowers open among dense bracts.
The flowers are purplish white and two-lipped.
[Uses]
The leaves are strongly fragrant, and an essential oil is extracted from them.
It is used as a perfume ingredient, and the whole plant is also used medicinally.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings.
Because it grows in slightly moist tropical land, it can be grown in regions where the minimum temperature stays at 5°C or higher and no frost falls.
