Taxon:  Coleus amboinicus Lour.



Summary
Genus:
Coleus
Family:
Lamiaceae (alt. Labiatae)
Subfamily:
Nepetoideae
Tribe:
Ocimeae
Subtribe:
Plectranthinae
Nomen number:
11151
Place of publication:
Fl. cochinch. 2:372.  1790
Verified:
03/23/2021 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
3 (2  active, 0  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Homotypic Synonym(s)
Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Plectranthus aromaticus Roxb.

Invalid Designation(s)
Coleus aromaticus auct.
No images


Conservation Status

Reference(s)
  1. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
  2. Paton, A. et al. 2019. Nomenclatural changes in Coleus and Plectranthus (Lamiaceae): a tale of more than two genera. PhytoKeys 129:1-158.
Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
Englishcountry-borage as Plectranthus amboinicus1Dyer, R. A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flora of southern Africa. Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
EnglishCuban-oregano as Plectranthus amboinicus1Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6 Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
EnglishFrench-thyme as Plectranthus amboinicus1Dyer, R. A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flora of southern Africa. Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
EnglishIndian-borage as Plectranthus amboinicus1Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
EnglishIndian-mint as Plectranthus amboinicus1Dyer, R. A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flora of southern Africa. Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
EnglishMexican-mint as Plectranthus amboinicus1Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Englishsoup-mint as Plectranthus amboinicus1Dyer, R. A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flora of southern Africa. Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
EnglishSpanish-thyme as Plectranthus amboinicus1Dyer, R. A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flora of southern Africa. Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Frenchoreille as Plectranthus amboinicus2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
GermanJamaika-Thymian as Plectranthus amboinicus2Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Malaydacon ajenton as Plectranthus amboinicus2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Spanishorégano as Plectranthus amboinicus2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Spanish (Cuba)orégano de Cartagena as Plectranthus amboinicus2Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6 Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Spanish (Philippines)toronjil de limón as Plectranthus amboinicus, as "torongil de limon"2Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6 Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Swedishkryddkarlbergare as Plectranthus amboinicus2Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource) Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNoteReference
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaKenya  Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaTanzania  Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaAngola  Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMozambique  Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaEswatini  Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaKwaZulu-Nataln.Dyer, R. A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flora of southern Africa.
2Cultivated    also cult. 
4Naturalized    widely cult. & natzd. in tropicsTurrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
5UncertainAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  Suddee, S. et al. 2004. A taxonomic revision of tribe Ocimeae Dumort. (Lamiaceae) in continental South East Asia II. Plectranthinae. Kew Bull. 59:391-393.
Native
Africa
  • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania
  • SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: Eswatini, South Africa [KwaZulu-Natal (n.)]
Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized (widely cult. & natzd. in tropics)
Uncertain
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India

Reference(s)
  1. Dyer, R. A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flora of southern Africa.
  2. Suddee, S. et al. 2004. A taxonomic revision of tribe Ocimeae Dumort. (Lamiaceae) in continental South East Asia II. Plectranthinae. Kew Bull. 59:391-393.
  3. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Environmentalornamentalas Plectranthus amboinicusHanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6 Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Food additivesflavoringas Plectranthus amboinicusDyer, R. A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flora of southern Africa. Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Human foodvegetableas Plectranthus amboinicusPadua, L. S. de et al., eds. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 12(1):407. Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Materialsessential oilsas Plectranthus amboinicusHanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6 Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Medicinesfolkloreas Plectranthus amboinicusDyer, R. A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flora of southern Africa. Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Medicinesfolkloreas Plectranthus amboinicusPadua, L. S. de et al., eds. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 12(1):407. Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Medicinesfolkloreas Plectranthus amboinicusMcGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland. Note: as Plectranthus amboinicus
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=11151. Accessed 17 April 2026.