Kasupangil
Clerodendrum infortunatum · Hill glory bower
- Names in the book
- Kasupag̃it, Gubat, Tag.; Salig̃-wak, Vis.
- Colours
- flowerwhite, pink
- Native range
- South and Southeast Asia
- In the Philippines, per the book
- Very common in Manila and in the forests.
- Family
- Lamiaceae, filed in the book under Verbenaceæ
- Printed as
- Clerodendron infortunatum, L. (C. fortunatum, Blanco.)
- Sources
- Page 194 on Project Gutenberg · Wikipedia
The plant today
Clerodendrum infortunatum, known as bhat or hill glory bower, is a perennial shrub belonging to the family Lamiaceae, also sometimes classified under Verbenaceae. It is the type species among ~150 species of Clerodendrum. It is one of the most well-known natural health remedies in traditional practices and siddha medicine. The species is native to tropical regions of Asia including Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, the Andaman Islands, and Sri Lanka.
Excerpt from “Clerodendrum infortunatum” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 51 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 5 provinces: Palawan (3), Kalinga (1), Metropolitan Manila (1), Mountain Province (1), Zambales (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
The fresh juice of the leaves is used in India as a vermifuge, according to K. L. Dey; it is also used as a bitter tonic in malarial fever, especially of children. As a tonic and antipyretic it is certainly worthy of recommendation.
Dr. Bholanauth Bose calls attention to this plant as a good substitute for Ophelia chirata, DC. as a tonic and antipyretic.
The infusion of the bruised leaves (10 grams to water 300 cc.) is given up to 200 cc. a day in 3 or 4 doses; the tincture (leaves 60 grams, alcohol 90 %, 500 cc.) is given up to 10 grams a day in 5 or 6 doses.
Botanical description
A shrub with nearly round stem; leaves opposite, ovate, oblong; acute, entire, slightly downy. Flowers terminal in umbellate panicles, the umbellets opposite and each bearing 3 flowerets. Calyx bluish, long, tubular, somewhat expanded in the middle, divided in 5 parts. Corolla twice as long as the calyx, tube filiform, limb 5-lobed. Stamens didynamous, their lower parts grown to the tube of the corolla. Filaments longer than the corolla. Ovary conical. Style of same length as the stamens. Stigma bifid. Berry dry, quadrate, depressed, the shell hard, 4 grooves, 4 cells, each containing a 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.
- Biosynthesis, characterization and anthelmintic activity of silver nanoparticles of Clerodendrum infortunatum isolate
- Evaluation of anti-inflammatory potential and GC-MS profiling of leaf extracts from Clerodendrum infortunatum L
- A comprehensive investigation of Clerodendrum Infortunatum Linn. using LC-QTOF-MS/MS metabolomics as a promising anti-alzheimer candidate