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Blumea balsamifera
Also called Buffalo Ear, Ngai Camphorshrub, Ngai Camphortree, Sambong
Blumea balsamifera, known as Ngai camphor or sambong, is a softly hairy, strongly aromatic subshrub or shrub of tropical Asia, widely used in Philippine herbal medicine. It is a weedy plant of disturbed land and grassland, so it tolerates rough conditions and is mainly grown or gathered for traditional use.
Blumea balsamifera is a flowering plant belonging to the genus Blumea of the family Asteraceae. It is also known as Ngai camphor and sambong (also sembung).
In most of the Philippines, B. balsamifera is called sambong in the Tagalog language, but in Visayas it is known as bukadkad or gabon, and in Ilocos it is sometimes called subusob, subsub, or sobsob. Its primary uses are as a diuretic (or "water pill") and to treat symptoms of the common cold. As a diuretic, sambong is an herb used to treat urolithiasis (urinary tract or kidney stones) and urinary tract infections, and thus reduces high blood pressure. Sambong works as an expectorant, an antidiarrheal and an antispasmodic, all of which treat some symptoms of the common cold. It is also sometimes used as an astringent for wounds. It is approved by the Philippine Department of Health, Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care, and by the Bureau of Plant Industries of the Department of Agriculture.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Blumea balsamifera by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
