Blumea balsamifera

Specimen : Wild

Habitats: Grasslands and roadsides

Local name : Sambong

Trade name : Ngai camphor

Botanical name : Blumea balsamifera

Family : Compositae

Traits : Aromatic; Evergreen; Fast growing; Short-lived; Shrub to small tree; Thicket-forming

Recommendations : Backyards; Farms; Home gardens; Potted; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Wildcrafting

Used for : Leaves are medicinal and are either infused and taken as tea, smoked as cigarette, used in aromatic baths, pounded as poultice or prepared and sold commercially as medicinal pills; Camphor oil from the new leaves are used in traditional Chinese medicine, the same is also used as an ingredient in modern pharmaceutical preparations like liniments for pain and rheumatism

Native range : India, China and Southeast Asia (including the Philippines)

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Further reading :

World Agroforestry (Blumea balsamifera) http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sea/Products/AFDbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=18102 (108)