紫苏 zi su

Ocimum frutescens Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 597. 1753; Melissa cretica Loureiro; Melissa maxima Arduino; Mentha perilloides Lamarck; Perilla avium Dunn; P. ocymoides Linnaeus; P. urticaefolia Salisbury.

Stems densely villous. Leaves broadly ovate to orbicular, 7-13 × 4.5-10 cm, green or purple, adaxially pilose, abaxially appressed villous, margin coarsely serrate. Fruiting calyx to 1.1 cm, base villous, glandular. Nutlets gray-brown, ca. 1.5 mm in diam.

Widely cultivated in China [Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia (Java), Japan, Korea, Laos, Vietnam]

Seeds are a source of perilla oil, a drying oil resembling linseed oil, which is used in waterproofing paper, manufacturing cheaper lacquer vanishes, printing ink, and painting. Leaves are used for flavoring dishes in India and China.