Weed Herbarium

Department of Agronomy

Bangladesh Agricultural University

Setodrone

Common Name: Thombe
Scientific Name: Leucas aspera (Willd.) Link
Family Name: Lamiaceae
Type: Broadleaf

Identification Notes

Leucas aspera Photo 1
Leucas aspera Photo 1
Leucas aspera Photo 2
Leucas aspera Photo 3
EPPO Code
LEVAS
Life Cycle
Annual
Morphology
Stem: erect, 4- grooved, stout, scabrous. Leaves: linear or linear-lanceolate, subserrate, whorls axillary and terminal, bract very short. Inflorescence: Verticillaster, flower sessile. Seed- red brown.
Growing season
Rabi and Kharif
Germination period
January to December
Flowering period
October to March
Propagation
By seed
Habitat
Prefer dry condition. Found in high land rabi crops and vegetables, roadsides, homesteads and fallow lands.
Weed potential
-
Control measure
-
Recommended herbicide
-
Distribution
The plains of Mauritius, Java, India, and the Philippines are all frequent locations for Leucas aspera (Srinivasan, 2011). It is an extremely prevalent weed in India and the Philippines.
Medicinal properties
The decoction of the whole plant is traditionally used for analgesic-antipyretic, anti-rheumatic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antifungal treatment, and its paste is applied topically to inflamed areas (Gani 2003; Prajapati et al. 2010). It is also used as a medicine for coughs, colds, painful swellings, and chronic skin eruptions (Chopra et al. 2002), cobra venom poisoning (Reddy et al. 1993a; b), tooth infections (Rahmatullah et al. 2009) and mosquito repellent (Maheswaran et al. 2008) by the rural people and possesses wound healing properties (Mangathayaru et al. 2006).
References
  1. Chopra RN, Nayar SL, Chopra IC. 2002. Glossary of Indian medicinal plants. NISCAIR, CSIR, New Delhi, India.
  2. Gani A. 2003. Medicinal plants of Bangladesh: chemical constituents and uses. Asiatic Soc Bangladesh.
  3. Maheswaran R, Sathish S, Ignacimuthu S. 2008. Larvicidal activity of Leucas aspera (Willd.) against the larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus Say. and Aedes aegypti L. Int J Integr Biol 2: 214–217.
  4. Mangathayaru K, Thirumurugan D, Patel PS, Pratap DV, David DJ, Karthikeyan J. 2006. Isolation and identification of nicotine from Leucas aspera (willd) link. Indian J Pharm Sci 68: 88?90.
  5. Prajapati MS, Patel JB, Modi K, Shah MB. 2010. Leucas aspera: A review. Pharmacogn Rev 4: 85?87.
  6. Rahmatullah M, Das AK, Mollik MAH, Jahan R, Khan M, Rahman T, Chowdhury MH. 2009. An ethno medicinal survey of Dhamrai sub-district in Dhaka district, Bangladesh, American-Eurasian J Sust Agric 3: 881–888.
  7. Reddy MK, Viswananthan S, Thirugnanasambatham D, Santa R, Lalitha K. 1993a. Analgesic activity of Leucas aspera. Fitoterapia 64:151–154.
  8. Reddy MK, Viswananthan S, Thirugnanasambatham D, Santa R, Lalitha K. 1993b. Effect of Leucas aspera on snake venom poisoning in mice and its possible mechanism of action. Fitoterapia 64: 442–446.
  9. Srinivasan R. 2011. Leucas Aspera - Medicinal Plant: A Review. International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences. 2 (1): 153–159.