A smooth shrub growing to a height of 1-3 meters. Stems are lenticelled, squarish, and pubescent. Leaves are simple, spiral in groups of three, and exstipulate. Blade is 4cm × 1.7cm and often light green. Inflorescences are slender, pendulous, terminal spikes of bluish flowers which are tubular and 5-lobed, and the tube is 7mm long. Fruits are pea-sized bright orange berries which are 5mm–1.7cm in diameter.
Herb Effects
Used as febrifuge (fruits); stimulant (flowers); diuretic (infusion of leaves and juice of fruit).
Used to treat malaria (fruits); to induce urination (plant) .
Reference
Christophe Wiart. Medicinal Plants of Asia and the Pacific, P:282-283, CRC Press, June 2006.
Castro, O., Barrios, M., Chinchilla, M., and Guerrero, O. 1996. Chemical and biological evaluation of the effect of plant extracts against Plasmodium berghei. Rev. Biol. Trop., 44, 361.
Health Remedies 
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