Serangoon Newsletter (Mar 09 issue)

 I contributed a concise article written about the Indian borage (Plectranthus amboinicus) that was published in the March 09 issue of the Serangoon Newsletter. This newsletter is distributed to all Serangoon Constituency residents.

Although I wrote a feature article on this plant before that was published on the Green Culture Singapore website, I continue find the confusion that the Singapore public has between this plant with the true mint (Mentha spp.) still prevalent. That is why I decided to submit this shortened version of the original Indian borage article for publication on the Serangoon Newsletter.

The Chinese here call the Indian borage as “Por Hor” which is, in fact, the same name that is used to call the true mint, which is probably a spear mint.  For those of us who know how spear mint smells like, we know its fragrance is very different from that of the Indian borage. Although both plants are members of the Lamiaceae family, in terms of appearance, the look of spear mint and Indian borage is very diverse. The spearmint plant grows like a prostrating creeper whereas the Indian borage attains more of an upright growth habit that bears some resemblence with the colourful coleus plant.

The Indian borage seems to be able to take shadier conditions quite well and is suitable for apartment gardeners using containers. Under shady conditions, the plant may etiolate a bit where the stem internodes lengthen but leaves will stay green and lush. When placed under full sunshine, the leaves of the Indian borage become bleached and tend to look sickly.

If you are keen to grow the Indian borage, look out for the variegated cultivar that has leaves that are edged white.