Gen info
- Clerodendrum is a genus of flowering plants in the Lamiaceae (mint) family, formerly placed in the family Verbenaceae. It is a genus of small trees, shrubs, lianas, and subherbaceous perennials. Estimates on the number of species vary widely, from 150 to about 450, partly because of the many species transferred to Rotheca and Volkameria. (3)
- Etymology: Genus name Clerodendrum derives from Greek words kleros, meaning "chance" and dendron, meaning "tree". The species epithet calamitosum means "ruinous or causing loss". (2)

Botany
• Growth form: Shrub, able to grow up to about 2.5 - 3 m tall. Foliage: Leaves simple and opposite arrangement, elliptic to oblong in shape, serrated along margins, measuring about 3 - 15 cm long and 1.5 - 8 cm wide. Flowers: Fragrant white flowers in a cyme inflorescence shape found in axillary positions. Fruit: Fruit is a globose drupe, measuring about 5 - 8 mm wide. (Flora & Fauna Web)

• Shrub or undershrub about 1-3 ft tall. Rhizomatous, stem grayish or brown, subglabrous, branchlets slender, slightly pubescent, obtusely quadrangular. Leaves simple, opposite, elliptic-oblong, ovate, 3-15 x 1.5-8 cm across, base cuneate or rhomboid, lamina slightly tapering into the base, margin serrate-dentate to lobed, apex obtuse to acute, membranous, glabrous, above and slightly pubescent beneath, lateral veins 4-7 on either side of the midrib, impressed above and more prominent beneath, petiole slender, pubescent, canaliculated, 1.5-4 cm long, exstipulate. Inflorescence axillary solitary cyme, peduncle slender, dichotomous, pubescent. Flowers bisexual, zygomorphic, white, pedicellate about 0.5-1 cm long, calyx 5 toothed, deeply lobed, reddish tinged on green, lanceolate, minutely pubescent outside, corolla hypocrateriform, 5 lobed, narrowly obovoid, creamish white, corolla tube narrow, cylindric, about 2.5 cm long, pubescent outside, stamens 4, subequal to didynamous, exserted, filaments filiform, slender, anthers oblong, ovary superior, 4 lobed, style slender, slightly longer than the filaments, stigma bilobed, Fruit drupe globose, 5-8 mm in diameter, dark purple to black when mature. (India Biodiversity Portal)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines. (1)
- Per Leonardo Co's Database: Cultivated, not naturalized. Found chiefly in cultivation for ornamental purposes; occasional in waste places about towns. (5)
- Also native to Cambodia, Christmas I., India, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Seychelles, Sulawesi, Trinidad-Tobago. (1)

Constituents
- Study of leaves and stems isolated three pheophorbide-related compounds (1-3). (see study below)

Properties
- Studies have suggested cytotoxic, anticancer, antibacterial, antifeedant, insecticidal properties.

Parts used
Leaves, roots.

Uses
Edibility
- No reports found on edibility.
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
- Elsewhere, reportedly used as medicine for treatment of kidney, gall bladder and bladder stones. Also reported to have diuretic and antibacterial properties. (6)
- Leaves used to treat fever, hemorrhoids, kidney stone and gonorrhea. Roots used for treatment of snake bites: a thumb-sized root is chewed, the liquid swallowed, and the residue applied on the bites.   (7)
- In Lombok, Indonesia, leaves used for the treatment of malaria, wounds, and kidney stones. (8)
- In Taiwanese traditional medicine, leaves and stems used for treatment of bladder, kidney and gallstone problems and as diuretic. (9)

Studies
• Cytotoxic Pheophorbide-Related Compounds Against Cancer Cell Lines / Leaves and Stems: Study of leaves and stems isolated three pheophorbide-related compounds (1-3). Compounds 1 and 2 showed strong cytotoxicity against human lung carcinoma (A549), ileocecal carcinoma (HCT-8), kidney carcinoma (CAKI-1), breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), malignant melanoma (SK-MEL-2), ovarian carcinoma (1A9), and epidermoid carcinoma of the nasopharynx (KB), and its etoposide- (KB-7d), vincristine- (KB-VCR), and camptothecin-resistant (KB−CPT) subclones. Compound 3 showed less cytotoxicity than 1 and 2.  (4)
• Antibacterial / Leaves: Study of leaves showed bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities against human pathogenic Gram (+) (Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram (-) (E. coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria. (9)
• Antifeedant / Insecticidal / Leaves: Study leaf crude extract showed insecticidal efficacy against 3rd instar larvae of S. litura and H. armigera on topical application. (10)

Availability
- Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Clerodendrum calamitosum / KEW: Plants of the World Online
(2)
Clerodendrum calamitosum / National Parks: FLORA & FAUNA WEB
(3)
Clerodendrum / Wikipedia
(4)
Cytotoxic Pheophorbide-Related Compounds from Clerodendrum calamitosum and C. cyrtophyllum /  Huey-Hwa Cheng, Hui-Kang Wang, Kuo-Hsiung Lee et al / Journal of Natural Products, 2001; 64(7) /
DOI: 10.1021/np000595b
(5)
Lamiaceae: Clerodendrum calamitosum / Co's Digital Flora of the Philippines
(6)
Clerodendrum and Heathcare: An Overview / Neeta Shrivastava, Tejas Patel / Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Science and Biotechnology,2007; 1(1): pp 142-150 (Gloobal Science Books)
(7)
White Butterfly - Clerodendrum calamitosum / SOCFINDO Conservation
(8)
Initial Studies on Alkaloids from Lombok Medicinal Plants / Surya Hadi, John B Bremmer / Molecules, 2001; 6(2): pp 117-129 / DOI: 10.3390/60100117
(9)
Antibacterial activity of selected medicinal plants from Malaysia / Sze M Chan, Voon Y Fong, Seng Y Koo, Nam W Sit et al / Asia-Pacific Journal of Science and Technology, 2022; 27(1): Article ID:APST-27-01-02.
(10)
Efficacy of certain Clerodendrum leaf crude extracts against cutworm, Spodoptera litura Fab and cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera Hub / GS Jadhav, AA Devarshi, SR Yankanchi  Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies,  2016; 4(4): pp 446-472 / eISSN: 2320-7078 / pISSN: 2349-6800

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)