Lamiaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Plectranthus prostratus

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial

Growth—

Prefers a somewhat shady position, though it also succeeds in full sun. The plant is often grown as an ornamental, usually in hanging baskets where it will form a mound of growth with the stems cascading downwards^[1]. Lines of purple form on the leaf edges if the plant is growing in bright light^[1].

Propagation

Seed - sow in well-drained soil, covering lightly with a thin layer of sand, and place in a warm but shaded spot. The seed germinates in about three weeks^[2]. Cuttings of Plectranthus species generally root easily - soft tips root faster than semi-hardwood growth. The cuttings are best taken 60 - 100mm long with three or four nodes, making the cut just below a node. Place them in sand, perlite, vermiculite or peat, or any mixture of these, keep them moist and shaded and they should root in 2 - 3 weeks^[2] Division of rooted shoots. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Plectranthus+prostratus>

Pollinators

Insects

References

[1]Flowers of India — http://www.flowersofindia.net/ ↩︎A wed site of native Indian plants, plus cultivated and naturalized species. It has good quality photos and terse details on more than 3,000 species and cultivars.
[2]PlantZAfrica.com — http://www.plantzafrica.com ↩︎An excellent site giving detailed descriptions and uses of many S. African plants.
[3]Flora of Tropical Africa Vol 1 - 8 — Var · L.Reeve & Co.; Ashford, Kent. · 1868 - 1917 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Very little information on habitat, range and uses, but gives good descriptions of the plants. It can be downloaded from the internet.
[4]Plants of the World online — http://powo.science.kew.org/ ↩︎An on-line database giving detailed descriptions of almost 40,000 species of plants (as of 2018), almost 25,000 images and a list of almost 850,000 plant names. A truly excellent resource and still growing.
[5]Plectranthus: A review of ethnobotanical uses — Lukhoba C.W.; Simmonds M.S.J.; Paton A.J. · 2006 ↩︎An excellent guide to the uses of Plectranthus species, giving the basic uses and the literature supporting this.