''Leonotis nepetifolia'', (also known as klip dagga, Christmas candlestick, or lion's ear), is a species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Leonotis ''Leonotis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae.Raymond M. Harley, Sandy Atkins, Andrey L. Budantsev, Philip D. Cantino, Barry J. Conn, Renée J. Grayer, Madeline M. Harley, Rogier P.J. de Kok, Tatyana V. Krestovskaja, Ramón ...

'' and the family Lamiaceae (

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

). It is native to tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and southern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It can also be found growing abundantly in much of

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

, and the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

. It grows to a height of and has whorls of striking lipped

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s, that are most commonly orange, but can vary to red, white, and purple. It has drooping dark green, very soft serrated leaves that can grow up to wide.

Sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly ...

s and

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

s are attracted to the flowers. It has been found growing on road sides, rubbish heaps or waste land. ''L. nepetifolia'' is considered an

invasive plant An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

in Australia,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, though its tendency to grow in disturbed areas led researchers in Hawaii to conclude it's not likely to be an ecological threat. ;Varieties #''Leonotis nepetifolia'' var. ''africana'' (P.Beauv.) J.K.Morton - Indian Subcontinent, much of Africa (light orange flowers) #''Leonotis nepetifolia'' var. ''nepetifolia'' - much of Africa (dark solid orange flowers) #''Leonotis nepetifolia'' var. ''alba'' - (albino/white flowers)

Related species

''Leonotis nepetifolia'' (''klip dagga'') is related to '' L. leonurus'' (''wild dagga'' or ''lion's tail''.) The most noticeable difference between the two is the leaf shape. ''L. nepetifolia'' leaves are

cordate Cordate is an adjective meaning ' heart-shaped' and is most typically used for: * Cordate (leaf shape) The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a ...

with serrated edges, except the top pair which are

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

with serrated edges, as pictured in taxonomy box. The leaves are all lanceolate with serrated edges on ''L. leonurus''.

Traditional medicine

''Leonotis nepetifolia'' is known in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

as ''shandilay'' and the leaves are brewed as a tea for

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

cough A cough is a sudden expulsion of air through the large breathing passages that can help clear them of fluids, irritants, foreign particles and microbes. As a protective reflex, coughing can be repetitive with the cough reflex following three ph ...

s, womb prolapse and

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. The dried leaves and flowers (the flowers being the most potent part) are sometimes used as a legal substitute for marijuana. The roots of ''L. nepetifolia'' are considered to be the botanical sources of ''granthiparna'', an ayurvedic herb.

Phytochemicals and Pharmacology

Leonotis nepetifolia contains several labdane diterpenes including Nepetaefolin, Nepetaefuran, Nepetaefolin, Nepetaefolin, Leonotinin, Leonotin and Dubiin as well as bis-spirolabdane diterpenes like Leonepetaefolin A-E. Methanol based extracts of Leonotis nepetifolia has shown antidepressant-like effects in mice. Metabolic screening of the extract suggested nepetaefolin, methoxynepataefolin, and 7-O-β-glucoside luteolin are the main products. Nepetaefuran and leonotinin isolated from Leonotis nepetaefolia plant material demonstrated anti-inflammatory by suppressing

NF-κB Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) is a protein complex that controls transcription of DNA, cytokine production and cell survival. NF-κB is found in almost all animal cell types and is involved in cellular ...

activation related to proinflammatory

Cytokine Cytokines are a broad and loose category of small proteins (~5–25 kDa) important in cell signaling. Cytokines are peptides and cannot cross the lipid bilayer of cells to enter the cytoplasm. Cytokines have been shown to be involved in autocrin ...

Gallery

File:Leonotis Nepetifolia Leaf.JPG, Leaf File:Leonotis nepetifolia (Deepmal) in Narshapur, AP W IMG 1164.jpg, Flowers

References

External links

FloraBase
- Information on ''L. nepetifolia'' in Western Australia
Information on cultivating
ethnoplants cultivating L.nepetifolia (French) {{Taxonbar, from=Q2512194 Lamiaceae Flora of Africa Flora of the Indian subcontinent Medicinal plants Entheogens Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Garden plants of Africa