English: Life plant
Tagalog: Kataka-taka
A rapid growing juicy herb. Leaves are thick, fleshy and simple or compound in pairs on reddish stems.
Plantlets grow along the notches of the leaf margins which can develop while still attached to the plant or when detached, a fascinating characteristic that earns its name.
Flowers are about 5 cm long, nodding, dangling and bell-shaped, greenish or yellowish, reddish by the stems.
Distribution
Easily propagated and widely distributed in the Philippines, found in thickets and open places. Also cultivated, flowering from December to March. Probably of prehistoric introduction.
Parts utilized
Entire plant. May be collected year round; preferably used fresh.
Medicinal Uses
- Pounded fresh material is applied as a poultice for a variety of conditions: Sprains, eczema, infections, burns; carbuncle and erysipelas. Usually not taken internally.
- For boils, the whole leaf is pressed by hand, to and fro, until it becomes moist with the leaf extract. A small opening is made in the middle of the leaf which is then placed on the boil with hole over the pointing of the abscess.
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