About Hyptis brevipes Poit.
Hyptis brevipes Poit. is a species of flowering plant that belongs to the genus Hyptis. It has a number of common regional names: lesser roundweed; nanto-iganigakusa in Taiwan; genggeyan and kaneja in Indonesia; sawi hutan in Malaysia; and ortela-brava and fazendeiro in Brazil. This plant is an erect annual, growing up to 1 meter tall. Like other members of the mint family, it has a characteristic square stem; the stem is often densely hairy, though it may be less hairy in some individuals. Its leaves are arranged oppositely, are normally coarsely hairy on both surfaces, and range in shape from narrowly ovate to lanceolate. They measure 5 to 7 centimeters in length, and up to 2 centimeters in width, with a cuneate base and irregularly serrate margins. Hyptis brevipes produces inflorescences that are dense, almost globular racemes, reaching up to 14 millimeters in diameter. These inflorescences grow from peduncles around 1 centimeter long, located in the axils of most upper leaves. The corolla (petals) is white, irregularly five-lobed, and approximately 5 millimeters long. The calyx measures 4 millimeters long, and also has five narrow, finely barbed lobes. Its seeds are ovoid, up to 1 millimeter long, and dark brown to black in color. The seeds have faint striations and a noticeable scar.
