General info
- The genus Ixora is one of the largest genera of flowering plants and contains about 562 species from the family Rubiaceae. It is the only genus in the tribe Ixoreae.
- Etymology: The genus epithet Ixora is named after Malabar-Indian deity Iswaram who is associated with the sacred Ixora coccinea (Jungle flame) and worshipped with its flowers. (8)

Botany
• A shrub or small tree; branches glabrous [to densely puberulent in Philippine plants]. Leaves opposite, sessile to shortly petiolate; petiole to 0.4 cm, glabrous [to densely puberulent in Philippine plants]; blade drying thinly papery and dark brown, elliptic, elliptic-oblong, or elliptic-ovate, 4.5-10 × 2-7 cm, glabrous [or puberulent along midrib abaxially in Philippine plants], base truncate, rounded, or cordulate, apex obtuse to rounded and usually apiculate; secondary veins 8-11 pairs; stipules deciduous, very shortly united around stem, lanceolate to broadly triangular, 2-5 mm, glabrous, acuminate. Inflorescences terminal, congested-cymose, 1-2 cm wide (not including corollas), few flowered, puberulent to glabrous; peduncle 1-1.5 cm, usually subtended by a pair of reduced, ovate or subovate, cordate leaves 0.5-3 cm; bracts ovate-lanceolate to narrowly triangular, 1.5-2 mm, acuminate. Flowers subsessile to sessile. Calyx puberulent to glabrescent; hypanthium ellipsoid, ca. 1 mm; limb 0.5-1 mm, shallowly lobed; lobes dentiform. Corolla white to pink, outside puberulent; tube 18-20 mm; lobes elliptic-oblong, ca. 7 × 3.5 mm, obtuse. Drupe ovoid, didymous, weakly compressed, ca. 1 cm, red when dry. Fl. Jun-Aug. (Flora of China)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- In most or all islands and provinces. Common in thickets and secondary forests at low elevation, including coastal bluffs and inland limestone formation. (5)
- Also native to Borneo, Maluku, Sulawesi, Taiwan. (1)

Constituents
- Study of dichloromethane extracts of Ixora philippinensis isolated syringaresinol (1), pinoresinol (2), isoscopoletin (3), squalene (4), ß-sitosterol (5a) and stigmasterol (5b) from stems; and 4, 5a, 5b, lupeol (6), and lutein (7) from the leaves. (2)
- Isolated chemical constituents: Phenolic compound (syringaresinol, pinoresinol); hydroxycoumarin (isoscopoletin), triterpene (squalene, lupeol), phytosterol (ß-sitosterol, stigmasterol), carotenoid (lutein).

Parts used
- Stems, roots.

Uses
Edibility
- Fruit is edible; eaten raw.
Folkloric
- The Ati Negrito tribe in Guimaras Island drink decoction of roots or dried stems for internal bleeding and postpartum hemorrhage; stem decoction drunk for postpartum recovery. (3)

Studies
• Phytochemicals / Stems and Leaves: See constituents above. (2)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Ixora philippinensis / KEW: Plants of the World Online
(2)
Chemical Constituents of Ixora philippinensis Merr. / Consolacion Ragasa, Maria Carmen Tan, Dalton Fortin, Chien-Chang Shen / Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science, 2015; 5(9) /
DOI: 10.7324/JAPS.2015.50912
(3)
Quantitative ethnobotanical study of the medicinal plants used by the Ati Negrito indigenous group in Guimaras island, Philippines / Homervergel G Ong, Young-Dong Kim / Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2014; 157: pp 228-242 / DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2014.09.015
(4)
Suggested reading: Ixora (Rubiaceae) on the Philippines - crossroad or cradle? / Cecilia I Banag et al / BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2017; 17: Article No 131 / DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-0974-3
(5)
Ixora philippinensis / Last edited by P B Pelserm 2022 / Co's Digital Flora of the Philippines
(6)
Systematics of the Philippine Endemic Ixora L. (Rubiaceae, Ixoreae) / Cecili I Banag / Dissertation - Bayreuth, 2014
(7)
Ixora species: A Review on chemical constituents and pharmacological activities / R Jasmin Sajini, D Chamundeeswari, C Vinodhini et al / Latin American Journal of Pharmacy, 2023; 42(3)
(8
Ixora congesta / National Parks: FLORA & FAUNA WEB

DOI: It is not uncommon for links on studies/sources to change. Copying and pasting the information on the search window or using the DOI (if available) will often redirect to the new link page. (Citing and Using a (DOI) Digital Object Identifier)