Copy permalink to share
Lamiaceae
Perilla

not marked as a favorite taxon *Perilla frutescens (Linnaeus) Britton. Common name: Perilla, Beefsteak-plant, Shiso. Phenology: Aug-Oct; Oct-Dec. Habitat: Moist disturbed areas. Distribution: Native of India.

Glossary (beta!)

Origin/Endemic status: E. and se. Asia

Taxonomy Comments: Var. crispa (Bentham) Deane (leaves purple above and below; leaf margins laciniate-dentate and also crisped) and var. frutescens (leaves purple below; leaf margins dentate, not crisped) are sometimes recognized; these appear to be recently-derived cultivars rather than taxonomically distinct entities.

Synonymy ⓘ: = Ar, C, Fl6, G, GrPl, K4, Mi, Mo3, Pa, RAB, S, Tn, Tx, W, WH3; = Perilla fructescens — NcTx, orthographic variant; > Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton var. crispa (Benth.) W.Deane — F, Il, NE, NY, Tat, WV; > Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton var. frutescens — F, Il, NE, NY, WV; Ocimum frutescens Linnaeus. Basionym: Ocimum frutescens L. 1753

Show in key(s)

Show parent genus | Show parent in key(s)

Wetland Indicator Status:

  • Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FACU
  • Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACU
  • Great Plains: FAC
  • Midwest: FAC
  • Northcentral & Northeast: FAC

Heliophily ⓘ: 5

Your browser does not support SVGs

Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend.

image #1 of Perilla frutescens© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
image #2 of Perilla frutescens© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
image #3 of Perilla frutescens© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
image #4 of Perilla frutescens© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
image #5 of Perilla frutescens© Sonnia Hill | Original Image ⭷
image #7 of Perilla frutescens© Joey Shaw source | Original Image ⭷
image #8 of Perilla frutescens© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
image #9 of Perilla frutescens© Joey Shaw source | Original Image ⭷
image #11 of Perilla frutescens© Erik Danielson source | Original Image ⭷

Feedback

See something missing or incorrect about Perilla frutescens? Let us know here:
  1. Please include your name and if possible, email in case when need to clarify what you wrote.
  2. If you opt out of including email, please be as specific as possible (e.g., which photo is incorrect?)
  3. Please do not submit questions asking to identify plants or about horticultural topics (e.g., how do I control an invasive plant in my garden?). Instead, those questions can be submitted here for the Carolinas region only.
  4. Please do not send us feedback about unkeyed species as this work is ongoing.
  5. Please allow time for flora edits to show in our next data release. We greatly appreciate your feedback but may require extra time to research complicated taxonomic issues.

Horticultural Information

NCBG trait

Intro: Erect colony-forming annual of moist disturbed areas. Native of India.

Stems: Stems stout, 4-angled and grooved, branched, sometimes purple-tinged, smooth or covered with downward-pointing hairs.

Leaves: Leaves opposite, petiolate, broadly oval with pointed tips, to 5 in. long, wrinkled, coarsely toothed, green to purplish-burgundy and aromatic.

Inforescence:

Flowers: Flowers in long (to 6 in.) terminal and upper axillary racemes; pink to pale purple; to 1/4 in. long; bilaterally symmetric; tubular, the corolla opening to a notched upper lip, notched lower lip, and 2 lateral lobes. The dark green-burgundy, densely hairy, toothed, tubular calyx is nearly as long as the corolla, and there are 4 pink-tipped stamens.

Fruits:

Comments: This invasive annual spreads easily; pulling before flowering/seed set is effective.

Height: 1-3 ft.

plant sale text:

bloom table text:

description: Erect colony-forming annual of moist disturbed areas. Native of India.

stems: Stems stout, 4-angled and grooved, branched, sometimes purple-tinged, smooth or covered with downward-pointing hairs.

leaves: Leaves opposite, petiolate, broadly oval with pointed tips, to 5 in. long, wrinkled, coarsely toothed, green to purplish-burgundy and aromatic.

inflorescence:

flowers: Flowers in long (to 6 in.) terminal and upper axillary racemes; pink to pale purple; to 1/4 in. long; bilaterally symmetric; tubular, the corolla opening to a notched upper lip, notched lower lip, and 2 lateral lobes. The dark green-burgundy, densely hairy, toothed, tubular calyx is nearly as long as the corolla, and there are 4 pink-tipped stamens.

fruits:

comments: This invasive annual spreads easily; pulling before flowering/seed set is effective.

cultural notes:

germination code:

native range: India



0 unsaved edits on this page.

« show previous | back to original search ↑