Botany
An erect shrub or small tree, up to a height of 6 - 14 feet. Leaves are oblong or ovate, 10-15 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, felty and harsh to touch, gray or chalkly white3 beneath and green on the other side; pointed at the apex, broadly rounded and 3-nerved at the base. The flowers are capitate, on 8 mm peduncles, single or clustered, 1 cm in diameter. Male flowers are white on short pedicles. Fruiting heads are dark green, nearly spherical, with compressed achenes.

Distribution
In thickets and secondary forests, at low and medium altitudes.

Parts used
Roots

Uses:
Folkloric
Decoction of roots used for phthisis, coughs, headache and gastralgia.
Others
Bark used for its strong bast fibers in making ropes.
Botanical description fits what is known in the Quezon area as "Asis," the leaves, with its one-sided harshness, used for scouring pots and pans.

Availability
Wild-crafted.