Elsholtzia kachinensis Prain. (Lamiaceae)
- Scientific name
- Elsholtzia kachinensis Prain.
- Family name
- Lamiaceae (Syn. Labiatae)
- Local name
- Pak luean
Slender herb, prostrate, diffuse, 10–40 cm tall. Leaves opposite, simple, blade ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 1–3.5 × 0.5–2 cm, sparsely pilose, midrib adaxially puberulous, base broadly cuneate, margin crenate-serrate above base, apex acute to obtuse. Petiole 3–16 mm. Inflorescence a spike-like panicle, ovoid in flower, 1.5–2.5 × 2 cm, cylindrical in fruit; lateral branches dense, pilose, secund, bearing 4–6 flowers; bracts broadly ovate, 3–4 × 4–5 mm, adaxially glabrous, margin entire, ciliate, apex subulate-mucronate. Pedicel c. 0.5 mm. Calyx tubular, c. 1.5 mm, with glandular hairs outside; teeth subequal, lanceolate-triangular, nearly as long as calyx tube, apex spinescent. Corolla white to purple, c. 7 mm, hairy outside, glabrous inside, throat c. 2 mm wide; upper labellum emarginate; lower labellum more or less patent, middle lobes entire or emarginate; lateral lobes semicircular, margin entire. Stamens much exserted. Style as long as stamen. Fruit a nutlet, chestnut brown, oblong, hairy.
Commonly found on riverbanks or in forests, valleys, and wet areas, at elevations above 1,200 m. a.s.l. Young shoots are available year-round. Occasionally propagated through cutting by indigenous peoples for its aromatic leaves.