Baccharis salvia Lour.

Erect, evergreen undershrub or shrub, rarely a herb or small tree, up to 4 m tall, smelling strongly of camphor; bark greyish-brown, smooth; wood soft, white. Stem erect, 2-8 cm in diameter, simple at base, then repeatedly trifid; branches terete, densely woolly villous with yellow-white hairs. Leaves simple, alternate, petiolate or with tapering base; petiole 0-3.5 cm long, mostly with 1-3 pairs of basal, patent appendages; blade very variable, ovate-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 6-30(-40) cm x 1.5-12(-20) cm, entire or somewhat pinnately lobed, margin usually serrate or serrulate with upcurved teeth, lower surface densely silky-woolly, upper surface rugose and pilose. Inflorescence a head, 6-10 mm in diameter, the numerous heads arranged in a usually terminal, sometimes axillary panicle 10-50 cm long and 6-30 cm in diameter; peduncle 3-10 mm long; involucre campanulate; bracts in many rows, imbricate, linear-subulate, 1-9 mm long, inner ones longest, outer ones gradually shorter, densely woolly outside; receptacle 2-4 mm in diameter, slightly convex, alveolate, glabrous or with fimbriate margins of the pits, glabrescent; florets heterogamous, numerous, tubular, hardly exserting from the involucre, yellow, marginal florets female, disk florets 8-28, bisexual; corolla of female florets filiform, up to 6 mm long, 2-4-lobed, glabrous; corolla of bisexual florets tubular, 5-7 mm long, 5-lobed, lobes triangular-ovate, acute, papillate, pubescent with colleters; stamens 5, anthers basally tailed, connective prolonged; style exserted, 2-branched at apex. Fruit a minute, slightly curved, obscurely 5-ribbed achene, about 1 mm long, brown, with sparse, short, white hairs; pappus uniseriate, 4-7 mm long, soft, white or more often reddish-yellow. Blumea species differ markedly in their content of phenolic compounds. In an analysis of 12 Blumea species, 147 compounds were separated. None of these occurred in more than 4 species, while the number of compounds per species ranged from 12-23. B. balsamifera is widely distributed and very variable in its foliage and degree of pubescence; the flower heads and florets, however, are remarkably uniform in size and morphology throughout its range. Plants growing in a montane habitat appear more woolly than those from the lowland. It is the most woody and fragrant Blumea. B. malcolmii (Clarke) Hook.f. is another strongly fragrant species which only occurs in Maharashtra (India); it smells strongly of turpentine and its volatile components are different from those of B. balsamifera. B. balsamifera is very variable in its foliage and degree of pubescence; the flower heads and florets, however, are remarkably uniform in size and morphology throughout its range. Plants growing in montane habitats appear more woolly than those from the lowland.

B. balsamiferais evergreen and flowers throughout the year. It produces seed abundantly and easily propagates spontaneously. Pollination is probably by insects.

B. balsamifera grows naturally along roadsides, in upland fields, fields infested with Imperata, and natural grazing lands, brushwood and forest, including bamboo and teak forests and sometimes in wet places on river banks. It sometimes grows gregariously and hardly tolerates shade. It is often considered a weed, but is easily eradicated. B. balsamifera is frequently found in regularly burned grassland, as it readily sprouts from underground parts after the leaves and branches have been killed by fire. B. balsamifera tolerates fire, after which it readily sprouts from underground parts.

B. balsamifera cultivated widely throughout East and South-East Asia.

B. balsamifera can be propagated by seed and by root and stem cuttings. Cuttings are placed in containers under shade. Watering should be carried out with care, as too much water is harmful.

Seedlings and rooted cuttings can be transplanted after about 2 weeks to a place receiving full sunlight. Full sunlight is optimal for B. balsamifera for growth and for the production of essential oil. In the Philippines it responds well to a fertilizer application of 40 g ammonium sulphate or 100 g solophos (0-18-0) per plant. Young plantations should be weeded regularly. In gardens, leaves are picked when required. On a larger scale, leaves are cut up to four times a year or whole plants are harvested.

Diseases: In the Philippines B. balsamifera suffers from the following diseases: Endophyllum blumeae, a leaf rust causing premature defoliation when the attack is severe; Cercospora sp., a circular leaf spot, may cause serious losses during the rainy season; while an orange leaf spot also caused by a Cercospora sp. occurs occasionally. Pests: B. balsamifera is reported to be a host of the mites Amblyseius sp., Brevipalpus obovatus and Typhlodromus jackmickleyi.

Essential oils: In China ngai camphor oil, an essential oil obtained by steam distillation of young leaves of B. balsamifera, is widely used in medicine and in rituals. The refined camphor 'ngai p'ien' is considered of higher quality than camphor from Cinnamomum camphora (L.) Presl, but is not rated as high as that from Dryobalanops spp. Medicine: Preparations from B. balsamifera have been used in Chinese medicine since ancient times as carminative, mild stimulant, vermifuge and as topical application for septic ulcers. In South-East Asia it is one of the most common and widely used medicinal plants for a number of ailments, mainly as a stomachic, vermifuge, expectorant and sudorific. It is also used to treat bronchitis, arthritis, insomnia and dysmenorrhoea. In the Philippines a diuretic and kidney-stone medicine is prepared commercially from B. balsamifera. In Thailand, cigarettes containing the chopped, dried leaves are smoked to relieve the pain of sinusitis. An infusion from the leaves is taken as a stomachic, diaphoretic expectorant and emmenagogue, while a decoction of fresh leaves, alone or in combination with other plant preparations, used as a bath for women after childbirth and also for young children. In Vietnam a decoction of the leaves is prescribed against influenza, cough and dyspepsia. Inhalation of the vapour from a boiling decoction of fresh leaves is used against the same afflictions. Poultices of pounded leaves are applied to treat haemorrhoids and an alcoholic maceration serves as a liniment for rheumatism. Camphor is used in liniments against rheumatic pains; a 3% ethanol solution is used to sooth itching. Poison: The roots and leaves are used as natural pesticides e.g. against storage pests and leaf hoppers in rice.