''Ixora coccinea'' (also known as jungle geranium, flame of the woods or jungle flame or pendkuli) is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules a ...

. It is a common flowering shrub native to

Southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, and Sri Lanka. It has become one of the most popular flowering shrubs in South Florida

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s and landscapes. It is the national flower of Suriname. Commercially important medicinal plant, used in ayurveda. All parts including flower, leaves and root are taken for various medicinal preparations for skin disease, Diabetes etc

Description

''Ixora coccinea'' is a dense, multi-branched

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

shrub, commonly in height, but capable of reaching up to high. It has a rounded form, with a spread that may exceed its height. The

glossy Gloss is an optical property which indicates how well a surface reflects light in a specular (mirror-like) direction. It is one of the important parameters that are used to describe the visual appearance of an object. The factors that affect glo ...

, leathery,

oblong An oblong is a non-square rectangle. Oblong may also refer to: Places * Oblong, Illinois, a village in the United States * Oblong Township, Crawford County, Illinois, United States * A strip of land on the New York-Connecticut border in the Unit ...

leaves are about long, with entire margins, and are carried in opposite pairs or whorled on the stems. Small tubular, scarlet flowers in dense rounded clusters across are produced almost all year long.

Cultivation and use

Jungle geranium seeds @ Kanjirappally, Kerala 02

Although there are around 500

in the genus ''

Ixora ''Ixora'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is the only genus in the tribe Ixoreae. It consists of tropical evergreen trees and shrubs and holds around 544 species. Though native to the tropical and subtropical areas ...

'', only a handful are commonly cultivated, and the common name, Ixora, is usually used for ''I. coccinea''. ''I. coccinea'' is used in warm

climates Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorological ...

for hedges and screens, foundation plantings, massed in flowering beds, or grown as a specimen shrub or small tree. In cooler climes, it is grown in a greenhouse or as a potted house plant requiring bright light. ''I. coccinea'' is also grown in containers, looking very distinguished as a patio or poolside plant. This tight, compact shrub is much branched and tolerates hard pruning, making it ideal for formal hedges, although it is at its best when not sheared. There are numerous named

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s differing in flower colour (

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the ...

pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

) and plant size. Several popular cultivars are dwarfs, usually staying under in height. ''Nora Grant'' is a popular dwarf and ''Super King'' is a popular

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

with much larger

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 ...

clusters. Many new cultivars and hybrids of ''I. coccinea'' have come to market in the last couple of decades, leading to a resurgence in popularity for the beautiful flame-of-the-woods. The flowers, leaves, roots, and the stem are used to treat various ailments in the Indian traditional system of medicine, the

Ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

, and in various folk medicines, in traditional Indian medicine the fusion of juice leaves and the fruit of Ixora coccinea is used to care for dysentery, ulcers and gonorrhea.

Chemical constituents

Phytochemical studies indicate that the plant contains the phytochemicals

lupeol Lupeol is a pharmacologically active pentacyclic triterpenoid. It has several potential medicinal properties, like anticancer and anti-inflammatory activity. Natural occurrences Lupeol is found in a variety of plants, including mango, ''Acacia ...

ursolic acid Ursolic acid (sometimes referred to as urson, prunol, malol, or 3β-hydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid), is a pentacyclic triterpenoid identified in the epicuticular waxes of apples as early as 1920 and widely found in the peels of fruits, as well ...

oleanolic acid Oleanolic acid or oleanic acid is a naturally occurring pentacyclic triterpenoid related to betulinic acid. It is widely distributed in food and plants where it exists as a free acid or as an aglycone of triterpenoid saponins. Natural occurren ...

, sitosterol,

rutin Rutin, also called rutoside, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside and sophorin, is the glycoside combining the flavonol quercetin and the disaccharide rutinose (α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranose). It is a flavonoid found in a wide variety of pl ...

, lecocyanadin, anthocyanins,

proanthocyanidin Proanthocyanidins are a class of polyphenols found in many plants, such as cranberry, blueberry, and grape seeds. Chemically, they are oligomeric flavonoids. Many are oligomers of catechin and epicatechin and their gallic acid esters. More compl ...

s, and

glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycoside ...

s of

kaempferol Kaempferol (3,4′,5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone) is a natural flavonol, a type of flavonoid, found in a variety of plants and plant-derived foods including kale, beans, tea, spinach, and broccoli. Kaempferol is a yellow crystalline solid with a meltin ...

and

quercetin Quercetin is a plant flavonol from the flavonoid group of polyphenols. It is found in many fruits, vegetables, leaves, seeds, and grains; capers, red onions, and kale are common foods containing appreciable amounts of it. It has a bitter flavor ...

.Baliga MS, Kurian PJ "Ixora coccinea Linn.: traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology", Chin J Integr Med. 2012 Jan;18(1):72-9

''Ixora'' cultivars

File:Pentas Star Flower.JPG File:IxoraCoccineaMiami.JPG File:20180526-161007flower.jpg File:Ixora coccinea in an urban ornamental garden 2 (cropped).jpg File:IXORA_IN_PARTIAL_BLOOM.JPG File:Colpfl16a.jpg File:Thechi rose.jpg File:Chethi.JPG File:Ixora coccinea red.JPG File:Ixora coccinea- jungle geranium.JPG File:Ixora coccinea White.JPG File:Chethi poo in Thiruvananthapuram, India.JPG File:West Indian Jasmine -- Ixora.jpg File:Ixora coccinea 3.JPG File:Ixora coccinea (pink).jpg

References

External links

*
Floridata - Jungle GeraniumWorld Checklist of Rubiaceae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1856114 coccinea Garden plants of Asia National symbols of Suriname Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus