''Coleus caninus'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Plectranthus caninus'', also called dogbane, piss-off plant and scaredy-cat plant, is a herb from the mint family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...

, native to southern and eastern Africa from

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and to India and

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

Description

It is a perennial herb covered in small hairs that features narrow, obovate leaves that are approximately 3-4 cm long and 2-4 cm wide, with semi-erect branches. The pale blue-purple flowers have a

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

and tubular appearance, where the

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s then open on the tall

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

spike. Both the leaves and flowers of the plant are sticky to the touch and have an odor similar to

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

that some animals find unpleasant, deterring both insect infection and grazing by larger animals.

Distribution

It is native to southern and

eastern Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

and

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Myanmar, Namibia, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Cultivation

The plant is supposed to scare off cats and dogs who may smell the aroma on the intact leaves and be repelled, hence its common name. Though there is no scientific evidence to show that these claims are factual. An attempt to register "''Coleus canina''" to receive plant variety protection failed as it was considered to be only a clone of ''

Coleus comosus ''Coleus comosus'', synonym ''Plectranthus ornatus'', is a flowering plant from the mint family Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage fami ...

'' (synonym ''Plectranthus ornatus''). These plants root easily from cuttings, tolerating mild drought conditions and full sun to part shade. Too much shade causes the stems to become leggy, as they stretch up to look for the sunlight, while the foliage lags behind. It does not tolerate

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

and it prefers moist soils, though when established it can tolerate drier conditions.

Subspecies

Two subspecies have been described: *''Coleus caninus'' subsp. ''caninus'' – northern Tanzania to Eritrea, India to Myanmar *''Coleus caninus'' subsp. ''flavovirens'' (Gürke) A.J.Paton, synonyms ''Coleus flavovirens'', ''Plectranthus caninus'' subsp. ''flavovirens'' – South Africa to Ethiopia

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q97961770, from2=Q462741 caninus Flora of South Africa Garden plants of Southern Africa Flora of Sudan Flora of Angola Flora of Ethiopia Flora of India Plants described in 1872