A humble plant with a grand, if somewhat curious name, the Black-faced General or Strobilanthes crispus (L.) is somewhat nondescript in appearance and often regarded as a bit of a weed though it is actually a woody shrub. It is also called Pecah beling in Malaysia and Keji beling in Indonesia. The fact that the General is a very robust plant, generally easy though slow to grow, probably gave rise to the misconception.
The General's name probably comes from its dark green leaves and the very dark tea which you can get by infusing its leaves. Misconceptions aside, however, it is a very useful plant with many powerful herbal properties. Pregnant women are advised to exercise caution when using it!
In Chinese medicine, it is regarded as an anti-cancer wonder. It is also used as a diuretic and a laxative. It has been scientifically researched and hailed for its antioxidant as well as antimicrobial properties. Clinical studies have also found that it has phenolic compounds which are helpful when treating kidney stones and diseases as well as fibroids. In Indonesia, they even use it to treat snake bites.
The Black-faced General seldom produces flowers, but when they do bloom, the sweet yellow blooms are trumpet-shaped. The buds have leafy green sheathes while the flowers can reach up to 2cm in diameter in full bloom.
The herb is generally consumed as a tea, either by itself or with a bit of Siraitia grosvenorii or Lo han guo in Chinese (also called monk fruit because its round smooth fruits look like monks' shaven heads) or dried red dates as natural sweeteners. Its leaves can also be blended into a smoothie. Used in combination with other local herbs like Sabah Snake Grass or Clinacanthus nutans (Belalai gajah in Malay) and Frog fruit or Turkey tangle (Phyla nodiflora), it is regarded as a herbal tea for the prevention of breast and uterine cancer by the Chinese.
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