Ixora coccinea

ixora

Ixora is used in Ayurveda (the Indian traditional system of medicine) to treat a number of ailments including dysentery and stomach conditions. Scientific study has found a number of potent phytochemicals in the plant with properties that support many of these treatments. Below is the first video in a series about Ayurveda, which differs in a number of significant ways from the "Western" medicine we most often use here in America (I highly recommend watching the entire documentary).

The ripe fruits are edible, though they don’t have much in the way of taste. Not that that’s a bad thing, however, since many “edible” plants can taste much more unpleasant. To experience some sweetness, you can pick the flowers close to the base and suck out a drop of sweet nectar, much like honeysuckle. Perhaps a chaser for the fruit by design?

These plants make a great hedge in full sun to part shade, but they are sensitive to alkaline soil, so you may have to add an acid-loving plant food if your landscape has coral stone bedrock.