Cat's beard

Cat's beard, also known as Orthosiphon spicatus, is a herbaceous plant of the genus Orthosiphon, within the Lamiaceae family, which grows up to 80 cm tall. Small, egg-shaped, brownish-green, toothed leaves, blue to purple flowers with stamens up to 3 cm long, reminiscent of a cat's whiskers.

Its main distribution area is in the tropical regions of Asia, Africa and north-eastern Australia.

The dried leaves and twig tips(Orthosiphonis folium) are used phytotherapeutically, also known as Indian kidney tea or Java tea.

In the cosmetics industry: Orthosiphon stamineus extract (INCI)

Orthosiphon spicatus is a perennial and herbaceous plant with often thick roots. Its opposite leaves are of simple and serrated shape. The terminal inflorescences have between two and twelve hermaphroditic flowers, with five white or reddish, prominent petals.

Orthosiphon spicatus is the parent plant of Orthosiphonis folium, the cut and dried leaves of the plant.