Santan
Ixora coccinea · Jungle geranium
- Names in the book
- Santan, Tag.
- Colours
- flowerscarlet
- Native range
- Southern India and Sri Lanka
- Family
- Rubiaceae, filed in the book under Rubiaceæ
- Printed as
- Ixora coccinea, L. (I. bandhuca, Roxb.)
- Sources
- Page 143 on Project Gutenberg · Wikipedia
The plant today
Ixora coccinea (also known as jungle geranium, flame of the woods or jungle flame or pendkuli) is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is a common flowering shrub native to Southern India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. It has become one of the most popular flowering shrubs in South Florida gardens and landscapes. It is the national flower of Suriname.
Excerpt from “Ixora coccinea” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sa Tagalog
Ang santan o Ixora coccinea ay isang uri ng palumpong na may kulay puti, pula, at rosas na mga bulaklak. Kilala rin ito bilang heranyo ng gubat, ningas ng kagubatan, at liyab ng gubat. Nagbuhat ang pangalang pang-agham nito mula sa isang itinuturing na diyos sa Indiya. Isa itong pangkaraniwang halamang palumpong na likas at katutubo sa Asya.
Sipi mula sa “Santan” sa Tagalog Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 89 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 22 provinces, most often Laguna (14), Davao del Sur (12), Metropolitan Manila (12), Camarines Sur (6), Negros Occidental (4), Cebu (3), Negros Oriental (3), Zamboanga del Sur (3), and 14 more.
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 handsome red flowers are used in decoction for hæmoptysis and catarrhal bronchitis. Both root and flower are astringent and are given for dysentery. In Concan they cook 2 “tolas” (13.60 grams) of the flowers in lard, together with coriander and “mesua ferrea,” add a little candied sugar and divide the mass into large pills to be given twice a day.
The fresh root in the form of an alcoholic tincture has been recommended by Deb for dysentery, the dose 2–4 grams in an appropriate potion. The tincture of the fresh plant is prepared by macerating 126 grams of the fresh root 15 days in 473 grams alcohol. The plant has been used in intermittent fevers and various skin diseases.
Botanical description
A shrub cultivated in all gardens, 6–8° high. Leaves oval, entire, glabrous. Flowers in terminal umbels, white, pink or red. Corolla tubular with limb cleft in 4 rounded lobes. The plant is so well known that further description would be superfluous.
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.
- Enhancement of mechanical and thermal properties of Ixora coccinea L. plant root derived nanocellulose using polyethylene glycol-glutaraldehyde system
- Lignocellulose fiber extraction from Ixora coccinea plants for possible reinforcement in polymer composites
- Rapid Identification of Jasmine Virus H Infecting Ixora coccinea by Nanopore Metatranscriptomics