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Perilla frutescens
| Common name: |
Shiso |
Family: |
Labiatae |
| Author: |
(L.)Britton. |
Botanical references: |
58, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
Perilla ocimoides (L.) |
| Known Hazards: |
There have been cases of toxicity, including dermatitis, pulmonary oedema, respiratory distress and even death following ingestion by cattle and horses[274]. |
| Range: |
E. Asia - China, Japan, India. |
| Habitat: |
Hills and mountains of central and southern Japan[58]. Sunny and fertile situations in China[147]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
3 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Dentidia nankinensis[G]
Ocimum frutescens[G]
P. arguta[G,P]
P. frutescens var. japonica[G]
P. nankinensis[G]
P. ocymoides[E,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Aka Shiso [H], Ao Shiso [H], Beefsteakplant [B,P], Ji Soo [H], Kuei Jen [E], Nd [E], Pai Su [E], Perilla [H,S], Purple Perilla [H], Shiso [H], Tsu Su [E], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
frutescens = becoming shrubby
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Lamiales. Renamed to Lamiaceae -- Mint family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
China
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive. |
Physical Characteristics
Annual/Perennial growing to 0.6m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 8 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs).
We rate it 3/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Colouring
Condiment Flowers Leaves Oil Seed.
Edible young leaves and seedlings - raw or cooked[46, 116, 178, 183].
The flavour is strange to western palates at first, some people detecting
cinnamon, others coriander or citrus[206]. Seedlings are added to salads,
older leaves are used as a garnish or flavouring[206]. Older leaves are also
salted and used as a condiment for tofu and as a garnish for tempura[183].
Leaves from purple cultivars are used to colour preserved fruits[238]. The
leaves can also be dried for later use[206]. The leaves contain about 3.1%
protein, 0.8% fat, 4.1% carbohydrate, 1.1% ash[179].
Immature flower clusters are used as a garnish for soups and chilled
tofu[183]. Older flower clusters are fried and eaten[183].
The seeds are preserved in salt or are used as a spice in pickles, tempura
and miso[183, 206]. They are one of the ingredients in 'Shichimi' or 'seven
spice' mixture[206]. The seed can also be eaten cooked[105, 178]. Seeds from
purple-leafed forms of the plant are preferred for culinary use[238]. The
seed contains about 21.5% protein, 43.4% fat, 11.3% carbohydrate, 4.4%
ash[179].
An edible drying oil is obtained from the seed[46, 171, 183, 272]. It is
rich in linolenic acid[57].
The plant yields an essential oil which is used as a food flavouring in
candies and sauces[183].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Antiasthmatic
Antibacterial Antidote Antipyretic Antiseptic Antispasmodic Antitussive Aromatic Carminative Diaphoretic Emollient Expectorant Pectoral Stomachic Tonic.
The leaves, stems and seeds of shiso are often used in Oriental
medicine. It is a pungent, aromatic, warming herb that is antibacterial,
antidote, antipyretic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antitussive, aromatic,
carminative, diaphoretic, emollient, expectorant, pectoral, stomachic and
tonic[116, 147, 174, 176, 218, 238].
The leaves are used in the treatment of colds, chest stuffiness, vomiting,
abdominal pain etc[176]. The juice of the leaves is applied to cuts and
wounds[272].
The seed is antiasthmatic, antitussive, emollient and expectorant[176]. It
is used internally in the treatment of asthma, colds and chills, nausea,
abdominal pain, food poisoning and allergic reactions (especially from
seafood), bronchitis and constipation[218, 238].
The stems are a traditional Chinese remedy for morning sickness[238].].
This herb should be avoided by pregnant women[222]. We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.
Other Uses
Essential
Oil.
A drying oil obtained from the seed is used in making paints,
varnishes, water proofing etc[46, 57, 105, 171, 238].
The plant yields 0.3 - 1.3% essential oil, which contains 20% citral[240].
It is used as a food flavouring and in dental products[238].
Cultivation details
Prefers a light soil[1, 206]. Requires a rich well-drained
moisture-retentive soil in full sun[200]. Plants require a well-drained soil
but do not need particularly fertile soil[206]. Prefers an acid soil with a
pH between 5.5 and 6[206].
The plant is not frost hardy and requires temperatures above 18° c if it is
to grow well[206]. The plant requires short days in order to flower[206].
Shiso is often cultivated in the Orient as a food flavouring. There are some
named varieties, those with purple leaves being preferred for seed
production[183, 206, 238]. Shiso is also cultivated for the oil obtained from
its seed[50, 171]. It is sometimes used in sub-tropical bedding schemes in
Britain[1].
Propagation
Surface-sow or only lightly cover the seed in mid spring in a
greenhouse. The seed germinates best at 20° c, though it also succeeds at
slightly lower temperatures[206]. Germination is usually quick, prick out the
seedlings into trays or individual pots when they are large enough to handle
and plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer[200, K].
Give the plants some protection such as a cloche until they are growing away
well. The seed has a short viability and should be used when less than a year
old[206].
Scent
-
Leaves:
- No details on scent.
Cultivars
- ''
- No entries have been made for this species as yet.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Latin and Worldwide Common Names
From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M. H. Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000
Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Perilla ocymoides (a possible synonym).
References for perilla frutescens (a possible synonym).
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.
[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
[116] Brooklyn Botanic Garden Oriental Herbs and Vegetables, Vol 39 No. 2. Brooklyn Botanic Garden 1986
A small booklet packed with information.
[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.
[174] Kariyone. T. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
A good Japanese herbal.
[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.
[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.
[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[206] Larkcom J. Oriental Vegetables John Murray 1991 ISBN 0-7195-4781-4
Well written and very informative.
[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
Readers Comments
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Plant information taken from the
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Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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