Botany:
Stout, erect, nonaromatic, hairy, annual herb, about 0.5 to 1.5 meters high, with green or purplish 4-angled stems. Leaves are lanceolate, 8 to 14 cm long, with toothed margins. Flowers are numerous, crowded in long-peduncles, growing up to 10 cm in length and the heads 1-2 cm in diamter with basal involucres of hairy bracts. Calyx is green 4 mm long, accrescent, 8 mm long in fruit. Corolla is white, 6 mm long.

Distribution
In almost all islands, as a weed in settled areas, open waste places, fallow rice paddies.

Parts utilized
Leaves

Properties and constituents
• Tonic and excitant.
• Contains alkaloids, camphor, cyanogenic glycosides and alkaloids.
• Study isolated two new compounds: a lignan and a pyrone; with no alkaloids.

Uses
Folkloric
Decoction of leaves used to clean wounds.
Decoction of roots used for amenorrhea.
Used by the Maranaos for dry cough and tooth aches; gas pains in infants and convulsions in children.
In Malaysia, used for stomach ache; the young leaves are pounded into a paste and applied to the affected areas.
In Costa Rica, used for toothaches.

Studies
• Cytotoxicity: Study isolated five triterpene acids including new hyptatic acids. Hyptatic acid A and 2a-hydroxyursolic acid demonstrated in vitro cytotoxicity in human colon HCT-8 tumor cells.
• Oleanolic Acid / Pomolic Acid / Anti-HIV Activity: Oleanolic acid was identified as anti-HIV principle from several plants, including Hyptis capitata. Study also isolated pomolic acid from H capitata, also identified as an anti-HIV agent.

Availability
Wild-crafted.