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Project Noah Nature School
Barleria lupulina
"Hophead is a popular medicinal plant distributed in mountains of southern and western India. Shrubbery plant with single dark green leaves, red-brown branches, and flowers that bloom in upright spikes. It is an erect shrub with smooth, hairless stems and leaves. Leaves narrowly obovate, spine-tipped, 3.5-9 cm long, 0.8-1.2 cm wide. Flowers occur in a terminal spike with overlapping bracts which are broadly ovate, 15 mm long, green with purple upper half. Flower consists of a 3m long corolla tube, opening into 1 cm long petals. Longer stamen filaments 2 cm long; shorter stamens fertile. Style is 3 cm long and smooth."
Spotted in a town garden in the equatorial tropics of northern New Guinea.
Traditional and therapeutic uses include as an anti-inflammatory for insect bites, herpes simplex (using fresh leaves), and roots as an anti-inflammatory for centipede bites. A laboratory study of derived compounds showed reduction in spontaneous activity, alertness, awareness, pain response and touch response, as well as significant motor incoordination and muscle relaxant activity, thus indicating extracts of B. lupulina have significant psychopharmacological activity. [from reference and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12065... ]
Spotted on May 9, 2012
Submitted on Oct 8, 2012
