Premna serratifolia L.
(Lamiaceae – the lavender family)
synonym: Premna obtusifolia R.Br.
Common names: Creek Premna, Kaar
Premna
is from the Greek
πρεμνον (premnon), the trunk or stump of a tree, referring to the dwarf stature of one species;
serratifolia is from the Latin
serratus, saw-toothed, and
folium, a leaf. In the
synonym,
obtusifolia is from
obtusus, blunt, and
folium, a leaf.
This plant is native to various islands in the western Indian Ocean: Comoros, Mauritius, Réunion and the Seychelles. In temperate Asia it occurs in China, Taiwan, Japan and the Ryukyu Islands. In tropical Asia it is found in many parts of the Indian subcontinent, on the islands of the North Indian Ocean, and in most parts of Indo-China. It is native to almost everywhere in the East Indies and the Philippines. In Australia it occurs right across the top end, and down the east coast of Queensland, usually along watercourses or in seasonally wet areas, but it is also found in rain forests and vine thickets. It also occurs in parts of New Zealand. In the Pacific, it is native to the Marshall Islands, Palau, Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa and the Solomon Islands. It has also become naturalized in various other parts of the world. The young tree photographed is in the Ergon yard at Picnic Bay.
Creek Premna is a spreading shrub or small tree growing 2–6 m high. The leaves are
opposite, 5–18 cm long, broadly
ovate with a smooth leathery texture. They are light green in colour with prominent veins and the
midrib raised beneath. The numerous flowers are cream-green in colour, with rather an unpleasant odour, borne on spreading terminal
panicles about 10–20 cm across. The fruits are
drupes, smooth, and
globular in shape, 3–6 mm in diameter, dark blue to black when mature. The plant is propagated from seed.
Aborigines used this plant to treat the stings of stonefish and stingray, as well as spear wounds. Its use is widespread in the Pacific region for both medicinal and magical purposes. In the Marshall Islands, for instance, where the plant is called Kaar, it is used to cure various baby ailments, to improve people’s luck and to protect them from illness, and to make love potions. The leaves are used to cure ‘weakness of limbs’ and to alleviate headaches. Extracts made from the plant are often mixed with other herbal extracts in medicines.
In the Chuuk Islands of Micronesia, young leaves are used to treat eye conditions such as styes. The leaves are chewed in the mouth of the person administering the treatment until they are a soft mush. This mush is then spat into the patients eye through a blowpipe made of a piece of pawpaw stem.
In other Micronesian Islands, especially in Pohnpei and Kosrae, the leaves are commonly used in steam baths, and a tea is also made by infusing the leaves, and used to treat coughs. Juice squeezed from the berries is used as nose drops to treat sinus headaches.
In fact, research is in progress on extracts from the bark and wood that contain alkaloids and iridoid glycoside, as these are believed to prevent cardiovascular disease.
In times of famine, the leaves and tender shoots can be cooked and eaten as greens.
Cây lá cách có nơi còn gọi vọng cách, thích mọc hoang nơi thềm ao, bìa rừng, vách núi... trên chân đất phèn lợ hay đất thịt pha cát. Đứng cách cây này khoảng 1-2 m, người thính mũi đã nghe tỏa mùi hăng hăng khó chịu. Càng lại gần, hơi lâu, người sức khỏe yếu dễ bị “mệt ngang”.
Theo ghi nhận của dược sĩ Trần Việt Hưng, “lá cách được dùng trong nhiều món ăn dân dã đồng thời cũng được xem là một “cây thuốc nam” dùng trị một số bệnh theo kinh nghiệm dân gian. Cây tuy có nguồn gốc tại vùng Nam Á Châu nhiệt đới nhưng cũng được trồng tại Hawaii, Florida (Hoa Kỳ). Lá cách thuộc chi thực vật Premna, họ Verbenacea. Chi Prem na có khoảng 200 loài, riêng tại Việt Nam có khoảng 15 loài trong đó có 4 hay 5 loài được dùng làm thực phẩm và làm thuốc.”
Cho nên, dân sành ăn tây nam bộ thường trồng vài bụi cách ngoài bờ mương, thềm rạch để dành chế biến nhiều món độc đáo. Cách mười ngày, nửa tháng họ chịu khó tỉa trụi cây cách, cho nó đâm nhiều chồi non mới. Lá cách non ít hôi hơn. Và khi gặp những vật thực có hậu vị tanh như: chuột, lươn, rắn... nó lại càng có khả năng “phù phép” cho chúng thơm tho.
http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Premna-serratifolia.htm
http://indianmedicinalherbs.blogspot.com/2009/03/premna-integrifolia-l.html
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