四方蒿 si fang hao

Aphanochilus blandus Bentham, Pl. Asiat. Rar. 1: 29. 1830; Perilla elata D. Don.

Herbs erect, 1-1.5 m tall. Stems and branches densely pubescent. Petiole 3-15 mm, densely pubescent; leaf blade elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, 3-16 × 0.8-4.5 cm, adaxially puberulent, glandular, abaxially gray-green, glabrous, strigose on veins, base narrowly cuneate, margin serrate, apex acuminate. Spikes terminal or axillary, subsecund, 4-8(-20) cm, mostly pubescent; verticillasters 7-10-flowered, short pedunculate; bracts subulate to lanceolate-subulate, 1.5-3 mm. Pedicel less than 1 mm. Calyx cylindric, 2-2.5 mm, strigose outside, teeth lanceolate; fruiting calyx slightly dilated at base, ovoid. Corolla white, 3-4 mm, strigose outside, subglabrous inside, funnelfrom, throat to 2 mm wide; upper lip emarginate; middle lobe of lower lip subcircular, slightly concave; lateral lobes semicircular, margin entire. Anterior stamens exserted, posterior 2 slightly longer. Nutlets yellow-brown, oblong, ca. 0.8 mm, Fl. Jun-Oct, fr. Oct-Dec.

Open forests, ravines; 800-2500 m. Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam]

Used medicinally.