Botanical Name: Ixora coccinea Linn.
Everyone loves a perennial garden! A garden, which can stand the test of changing weather, places, people, etc.
In garden planning, the choice of flowers and foliage plants makes a lot of difference. For instance, the simple humble Ixora promises perennial flowering with a colour blast in your garden. A native of India, Ixora coccinea is known by several names that characterises it. From Flame of the Woods, or Jungle Flame or Jungle Geranium, this plant produces flowers that looks a mini bouquet of delicate flowers bunched up together.
Being a native, it is an extremely hardy plant that grows profusely in a medium sized shrub. Though there are several hybrid and dwarf varieties available today to fit your garden as the case may be. For hedging, this is a perfect plant owing to its thick leaf coverage as well as striking flower bunches that make a statement in any garden.
Ixora has been widely used in traditional medicine i.e. Ayurveda due to its richness in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. Owing to this, most parts of the plant from flower, leaves to roots are used to treat conditions such as arthritis, asthma, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and other chronic illnesses. It is also consider to purify air and increase humidity levels, making them ideal in drier climates.
This low-maintenance, happy-go-lucky plant is a gardener’s favourite, which you may find growing throughout India. Hard to believe that one plant can check all boxes, isn’t it! After all, gardening is all about trying and trying until you grow it!
