The King of Bitters. Andrographis paniculata, Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, Kepong, Malaysia
The Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) at Kepong about 20 km from Kuala Lumpur is not only a research institute but also oversees a wonderful forest reserve and park. A good place for a walk or even some jogging on the well-maintained paths and roads up and along the hills. Many kinds of trees and other plants, and a multitude of biting, stinging and also innocuous insects, often of vivid colors; the smells and aromas of the forest; bird song... so much for all the senses. And a multitude of wild flowers as well. This photo is of a flower of the King of Bitters or Creat, one of the most bitter plants in existence. As such it is used in much native medicine and before the advent of penicillin it's antibiotic effects were well-known. It's still today the subject of much research.
Like many plants, this one, too, went through a range of name changes. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century it went by the name Justicia paniculata (named for the Scottish botanist James Justice [1683-1763]), but then it was given its more directly descriptive name of Andrographis paniculata; the 'andrographis' is Latinised Greek for 'anther or stamen like a paintbrush' ('propter antheras penicellatas', as Nathaniel Wallich's 1832 flora for 'rare' Asian plants has it); the 'paniculata' refers to the tufted inflorescences. It was originally described for India (e.g. the Malabar Coast) and for Sri Lanka, but it 's found all over the Tropics, and delights the eye! It measures about 1 cm across and a tad more up-and-down.
The King of Bitters. Andrographis paniculata, Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, Kepong, Malaysia
The Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) at Kepong about 20 km from Kuala Lumpur is not only a research institute but also oversees a wonderful forest reserve and park. A good place for a walk or even some jogging on the well-maintained paths and roads up and along the hills. Many kinds of trees and other plants, and a multitude of biting, stinging and also innocuous insects, often of vivid colors; the smells and aromas of the forest; bird song... so much for all the senses. And a multitude of wild flowers as well. This photo is of a flower of the King of Bitters or Creat, one of the most bitter plants in existence. As such it is used in much native medicine and before the advent of penicillin it's antibiotic effects were well-known. It's still today the subject of much research.
Like many plants, this one, too, went through a range of name changes. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century it went by the name Justicia paniculata (named for the Scottish botanist James Justice [1683-1763]), but then it was given its more directly descriptive name of Andrographis paniculata; the 'andrographis' is Latinised Greek for 'anther or stamen like a paintbrush' ('propter antheras penicellatas', as Nathaniel Wallich's 1832 flora for 'rare' Asian plants has it); the 'paniculata' refers to the tufted inflorescences. It was originally described for India (e.g. the Malabar Coast) and for Sri Lanka, but it 's found all over the Tropics, and delights the eye! It measures about 1 cm across and a tad more up-and-down.