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

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

Properties
• Tonic and excitant.

Uses
Folkloric
In the Philippines, 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 Martinique, used as tonic and excitant.
In Antilles, used as a stimulang.
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.