Kukong-manok
Barleria prionitis · Porcupine flower
- Names in the book
- Kokog̃manok, Kulanta, Tag.
- Used for
- FeverCough and asthma
- Colours
- floweryellow, orange
- Native range
- South Asia and East Africa
- In the Philippines, per the book
- In Guadalupe, Mandaloyon and San Juan del Monte. Blooms in April.
- Family
- Acanthaceae, filed in the book under Acanthaceæ
- Printed as
- Barleria Prionitis, L. (Barreliera Prionitis, Blanco.)
- Sources
- Page 186 on Project Gutenberg · Wikipedia
The plant today
Barleria prionitis is a shrub in the family Acanthaceae, native to Island and Mainland Southeast Asia, China, the Indian Subcontinent, the Arabian Peninsula and northeastern Africa. It is widely spread as an ornamental and weed, occurring in naturalised populations around the world. It used not only as an ornamental but also as a hedge and extensively as a component of folk medicines. As a weed it is regarded as problematic in many areas.
Excerpt from “Barleria prionitis” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 40 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 2 provinces: Metropolitan Manila (2), Pampanga (1).
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1901 book says
A historical record, quoted as printed. Doses and remedies here are not medical advice.
Uses
This plant is not used medicinally in the Philippines. The natives of Bombay are accustomed to use its juice to anoint the soles of their feet during the rainy season in order to toughen the skin and prevent fissures due to prolonged maceration.
The leaf juice is bitter and acid; it is a favorite with the natives of India in the treatment of the catarrhal fevers common among their children, administered in doses of 2 tablespoonfuls a day mixed with sweetened water.
In Concan the dry bark is given for whooping-cough and the juice of the fresh bark in doses of 2 “tolas” (7.60 grams) for anasarca. Dr. Bidie states that the action is diaphoretic and expectorant.
Botanical description
A plant 2–3° high, stem creeping, the ends rising; enlarged at the joints, glabrous. Leaves smooth, opposite, lanceolate, finely serrate, fringed, somewhat downy below, glabrous above. Petioles short, 4 axillary spines. Flowers straw-color, axillary, sessile, solitary. Calyx deeply cleft in 4 parts, ovate, ending in spines. Corolla funnel-shaped, tube short, throat nude, limb 5-lobed. Stamens 4, didynamous. Ovary 2-celled. Style same length as stamens. Seed-vessel ovate, flattened and sharp-pointed, 2-celled, each cell with a flat, heart-shaped seed.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
- Barleria prionitis L. extracts ameliorate doxorubicin-induced acute kidney injury via modulation of oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis
- Structures and properties of phenylethanoid glycosides from Barleria prionitis Linn.: Insights from theoretical and experimental investigations
- Phytochemical and Pharmacological Insights into Barleria Prionitis L., Barleria Cristata L., and Barleria Lupulina Lindl: A Global Perspective on Medicinal Potential