Tumble weed, Wild tea bush
Leucas martinicensis

Family: Lamiaceae

What it is like

An annual herb. It grows to 60 cm high. The stem is square. The leaf stalk is 0.7-1.5 cm long. The leaf blade is oval to sword shaped and 4-6 cm long by 1.5-3 cm wide. The leaves are densely hairy. They have teeth along the edge. The flowers are green and occur in clusters in the axil of each pair of leaves. The small white flowers emerge a few at a time. The fruit are four dark brown, oblong nutlets.

There are about 100 Leucas species. The leaves have a strongly minty smell and are burned to repel mosquitoes.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. In China it grows in grassy waste places between 1100-1500 m altitude. It can grow in hot arid places with a marked dry season. It is often in stony soil. It can tolerate shade. It can grow in arid places. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Asia, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, Chad, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Equatorial-Guinea, Eswatini, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesser Antilles, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Middle East, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North America, Rwanda, Sahel, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Trinidad-Tobago, Uganda, USA, West Africa, West Indies, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The leaves are eaten. They have a mint like flavour. They are used in sauces and as a flavouring.

Edible parts

Leaves, vegetable

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Amandetshi, Chambalala, Guma ara, Huring sengel sui, Kifilanjambola, Luan ye bai rong cao, Ongoma, Ovate-leaf leucas, Tolbos

Synonyms

Clinopodium martinicensis Jacquin; Clinopodium martinicense Jacq.; Leucas elliotii Baker; Leucas schimperi Hochst. ex A. Br.; Leonotis caribea (Jacq.) Raf.; Phlomis caribea Jacq.; Phlomis martinicensis (Jacq.) Sw.; Phlomis mollis Schumach. & Thonn.; Stachys fluminensis Vell.;