An evergreen, heather-like shrub up to 1 m tall. Bark is greyish brown, fissured and flaky. Leaves are opposite, seemingly in clusters at condensed nodes, needle-like, 6—15 mm x 0.4—0.8 mm, base narrowly cuneate, apex obtuse or acute, margin entire, resinous aromatic when crushed; petiole 0.5 mm long. Inflorescence axillary, 1-flowered; peduncle absent or very short; pedicel 0.8—1.7 mm long; bracteoles 2, early caducous. Flowers are bisexual, 5-merous, hypanthium obconical to campanulate, 1.5—2.2 mm long, partly fused to the ovary; sepals semiorbicular, 0.4—0.9 mm x 0.6—1.1 mm; corolla up to 5 mm across, petals orbicular, 1.1—1.8 mm across, white, oil glands present; stamens 7—13 in groups of 1—3 opposite each hypanthium lobe, filament 0.5—0.8 mm long, anther about 0.3 mm long; ovary 2—3-locular, 12—18 ovules per locule, style terete, about 1.2 mm long. Fruit is a hemispherical to campanulate capsule opening by 3—4 longitudinal slits.

As emmenagogue and diuretic(leaves); antibacterial, antifebrile and haemostatic (aerial parts); antiseptic (plant)

HerbNET
PROSEA (Plant Resources of South-East Asia) Foundation

Used in the treatment of coryza, influenza, headache, measles, colic and jaundice, in the form of a fumigation of the dried plant or the inhalation of vapour from a boiling decoction of the fresh plant; against epistaxis, impetigo, dyspepsia, dysentery and dysmenorrhea, and externally in treating furunculosis and impetigo (plant); to treat snakebite (aerial parts); for catarrh, headache and rheumatism (leaves and flowers); for massaging in rheumatism (essential oil).