An evergreen shrub, when uncultivated, attaining as much as 30 feet in height, but seldom reaching more than 6 or 7 feet when under cultivation. It has numerous alternate branches, furnished with elliptical-oblong or lanceolate, short petiolate, pointed leaves, which are serrate except at the base, smooth on both sides, green, shining, pinnately veined and having a prominent midrib. They are two or three inches long, and from half an inch to an inch in breadth. The flowers are either solitary or supported, two or three together, at the axils of the leaves. They are of considerable size, not unlike those of the myrtle in appearance, consisting of a short green calyx with five or six lobes, of a corolla with from four to nine large unequal snow-white petals, of numerous stamens with yellow anthers and connected at their base, and of a pistil with a three-parted style. The fruit is a three-locular and three-seeded capsule.

Cardiotonic, diuretic, expectorant, stimulant and astringent (leaves).

Plants for a Future

(+)-Catechin, acetone, adenine, apigenin, ascorbic acid, astragalin, benzoic acid, benzyl-acetate, beta-carotene, beta-sesquiphellandrene, carvacrol, chlorogenic acid, cinnamic acid, citronellol, diphenylamine, epicatechin, epicatechin-gallate, epigallocatechin, farnesol, gallic acid, geranial, glutamine, guaiacol, hyperoside, indole, inositol, isoquercitrin, loliolide, lutein, lycopene, lysine, M-cresol, malic acid, methyl-salicylate, myrcene, neral, nerol, niacin, nicotinic acid, oxalic acid, palmitic acid, pantothenic acid, polyphenols, quercitrin, riboflavin, rutin, safrole, salicylaldehyde, salicyclic acid, strictinin, tannic acid, theobromine, thiamin, thymol, valeric acid, valine, vitexin (leaf); acetic acid, acetic acid, alanine, allantoin, arginine, caffeic acid, kaempferol, myricetin, (plant); alpha-amyrin, beta-amyrin, taraxerol (seed oil); alpha-terpineol, benzaldehyde, naringenin, nerolidol (shoot); benzyl-alcohol, beta-ionone, caffeine, geraniol (leaf, shoot); beta-sitosterol, linoleic acid, lupeol, oleic acid (seed); eugenol (fruit); quercetin (leaf, plant); theophylline (leaf, seed).

In malaria, exert a decided influence over the nervous system, giving a feeling of comfort and exhilaration, but also producing an unnatural wakefulness when taken in large doses and antidote (leaf decoction); in the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis and gastro-enteritis, as a poultice or wash to treat cuts, burns, bruises, insect bites, ophthalmia, swellings etc (leaves).

Accumulated fluoride in the leaves of tea is a potential source of high fluoride ingestion & recommendations should be made to reduce consumption in patients who may be at risk of dental fluorosis (Kavanagh and Renehan, 1998).

Chandel et al., Biodiversity in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India.