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Perilla frutescens
Also called Korean perilla, Beefsteak Mint, Beefsteak Plant, Purple Mint, Beefsteak, Beefsteakplant, Chinese Basil
In Singapore: Beefsteak Plant, Perilla, Perilla Mint, Chinese Basil, 紫苏 (Grown in Singapore)
Perilla is an annual mint-family herb grown for its aromatic, edible leaves and seeds, especially in Asian cooking. It thrives in warm, sunny conditions and self-seeds readily, so it can spread in the garden.
Perilla frutescens is a species of Perilla in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is an annual plant native to eastern Russia, South and Southeast Asia, and has been introduced to parts of eastern Asia, Europe, and North America. It prefers subtropical habitats.
An edible plant, perilla is grown in gardens and attracts butterflies. It has a strong mint-like smell. The major volatile compound responsible for this characteristic aroma is perilla ketone concentrated in the leaves.
Although perilla is widely cultivated as an edible plant for humans, it is toxic to cattle and other ruminants, as well as horses. In grazing cattle, plant ketones cause acute respiratory distress syndrome, also called "panting disease".
Contact dermatitis may occur in people handling the leaves or oil. Consumption of large amounts of seeds has resulted in anaphylaxis.
The plant is native to: Bangladesh; India especially, Eastern and Western Himalayas, and Northeast India; Nepal; Myanmar; China especially, South Central China, and Southeast China; Thailand; Laos; Vietnam; Java; Taiwan; Japan; Korea; and Russia, especially, Primorsky Krai; and Khabarovsk Krai. It was introduced to other parts of Asia, namely Inner Mongolia, Cambodia, and parts of Europe such as Germany, Romania, Ukraine and South European Russia. In addition, it was also introduced in several states of the United States and the Ontario province of Canada. After years of spreading in the United States, P. frutescens has been designated as a weed.
Perilla seeds are rich in dietary fiber and dietary minerals such as calcium, iron, niacin, protein, and thiamine. Perilla leaves are also rich in vitamins A, C and riboflavin.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Perilla frutescens 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.
