About Dicliptera tinctoria (Nees) Kostel.
Species Identity and Growth Habit
Dicliptera tinctoria (Nees) Kostel. is a herbaceous perennial plant that reaches 0.3–1 meters in height.
Leaf Characteristics
Its leaves range from lanceolate to ovoid-acute in shape, measuring 20–75 mm long and 10–35 mm wide.
Flower Characteristics
Its two-lobed flowers can reach 50 mm along the long axis, and their color ranges from magenta to reddish-violet.
Food Coloring Use
An extract from its leaves is used as a food coloring that gives a magenta tone to certain Vietnamese foods, most notably the taro-filled cake bánh da lợn and sweet glutinous rice dessert xôi lá cẩm.
Traditional Medicinal Use
This species is also used in traditional Chinese medicine: water-based decoctions made from its leaves are used to treat a range of conditions including cough, dysentery, diarrhoea, and bronchitis.
