Acalypha siamensis

Oliver ex Gage

Hermit’s Tea

EuphorbiaceaeLeavesSpice/Beverage

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves - tea

Dried leaves are brewed to make tea.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in dry evergreen forests on sandy soil. It grows between 100-400 m above sea level.

Asia, Cambodia, China, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, SE Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A shrub or small tree. It grows 5 m tall. There are prickles along the stem. The leaves are twice divided and there are 8-18 pairs of pinnae. There are up to 50 pairs of pinnules on each pinnae. The flowers are yellow. They are in large clusters at the ends of branches. The pods are flattened.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from seeds or by cuttings.

Propagation: Seed - Stem cuttings.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves are used in traditional medicine to treat fever, bowel complaints and kidney diseases; they are said to have antipyretic properties.

Other Uses

The plant is often cultivated as a hedge plant.

Notes

There are over 450 Acalypha species. They are tropical. There are 225 in tropical America.

Names & Synonyms

Akalifa siam, Chah ru-si, Laphet-nyo, Tae prei, Teh hutan, Teh kampong, Tumput

Acalypha evrardii Gagnep.Acalypha sphenophylla Pax & K.Hoffm.Acalypha fruticosa Ridley

References (8)

Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 5
Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 1 (A-H) p
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 106
Rec. Bot. Surv. India 9:238. 1922
Samy, J., Sugumaran, M., Lee, K. L. W., 2009, Herbs of Malaysia, Marshall Cavendish. p 31
Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 577
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew