What is thumbai used for?

Its white flowers are used in worship and the leaf juice is a traditional household remedy for colds; these are attributed traditional uses, not medical advice.

How do you identify thumbai?

Look for a rough herb with square stems and tight round whorls of small white two-lipped flowers clustered at the leaf joints.

✿Lamiaceae · Leucas

Leucas aspera

Chhota Halkusa / Common Leucas

Also known as Thumbe

Native in Indian regions · Kew WCVPHerb

Habit: Herb
Found in India: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka & more
Flowering: Throughout the year

Identify this plant with SASYA

One plant. Many familiar names.

Chhota Halkusa in regional languages

Find the name you know, then compare it with the botanical profile. Columns list recorded aliases; they are not paired translations. A Latin spelling appears only when it is present in the source record.

Recorded regional names for Chhota Halkusa
Language	Regional script	Recorded Latin spelling
Hindi	छोटा हल्कुसा · गॊफा · गूमा	Chhota halkusa, Gophaa, guma
Nepali	बोकेझार	Not recorded
Bengali	শ্বেতাদ্রোণ · ডোঁরপি	Ghal ghase
Tamil	தும்பை · முடிதும்பை	Thumbai
Telugu	తుమ్మి చెట్టు · తుమ్మి	Thummi chettu, Tummachettu
Kannada	ತುಂಬೆ · ತುಂಬೆಗಿಡ	Tumbe gida
Malayalam	തുമ്ബാ · തുമ്പ · തുമ്പ ചെടി	Tumba
Marathi	तुंबा · तुंबी · थंबा	Tumba, Tumbi
Assamese	দোৰোণ	Not recorded

See the original recorded names

Hindi: छोटा हल्कुसा Chhota halkusa, गॊफा Gophaa,गूमा guma
Nepali: बोकेझार
Bengali: Ghal ghase, শ্বেতাদ্রোণ, ডোঁরপি
Tamil: தும்பை Thumbai, Thumbai, முடிதும்பை
Telugu: తుమ్మి చెట్టు Thummi chettu, Tummachettu, తుమ్మి
Kannada: ತುಂಬೆ Tumbe gida, ತುಂಬೆಗಿಡ
Malayalam: തുമ്ബാ Tumba, തുമ്പ, തുമ്പ (ചെടി)
Marathi: तुंबा Tumba, तुंबी Tumbi, तुंबी, थंबा
Assamese: দোৰোণ

Ecology & growing context

Native status · Kew WCVP: WCVP native range includes Andaman Is., Assam, India, Nicobar Is., West Himalaya Kew dataset ↗
Kew WCVP dataset; accepted-name match. Dataset matching is separate from an individual regional review. Recorded worldwide native range: Mauritius, Trop. & Subtrop. Asia.
Recorded habitat: Open deciduous forests
Explore nearby plants: Kerala →Tamil Nadu →Karnataka →

Occurrence records show where a plant has been recorded; they do not establish that it is native there. Compare local habitat and growing conditions when choosing plants for a garden.

How to identify Chhota Halkusa

Identify Chhota Halkusa by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.

Look for a herb habit.
Check the distinctive field mark: Very common roadside weed.
Confirm leaf arrangement: Opposite.
Confirm leaf shape: Lanceolate.
Confirm flower arrangement: Spike (stalkless flowers along a stem).
Use the leaf pattern: opposite leaf arrangement, simple leaves, toothed leaf margins, pinnate venation.
In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.

Plant Details

Scientific name: Leucas aspera
Genus: Leucas
Family: Lamiaceae
Habit: Herb
Habitat: Open deciduous forests
Habitat type: Forest
Native to: Tropical Asia
Distribution: Indo-Malesia
Found in India: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Puducherry, Telangana, Rajasthan, Goa, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
Flowering & fruiting: Throughout the year
Conservation status: Not Evaluated (NE)

Leaf characters

Leaf arrangement: OppositerecordedTwo leaves arise from the stem at the same point, facing each other.“Leaves Opposite, subsessile or short petioled,linear or narrowly oblong- lanceolate,entire or distantly crenate, obtuse, narrowed at the base.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Leaf shape: LanceolaterecordedLong and narrow, tapering to a point, like a lance head.“Leaves Opposite, subsessile or short petioled,linear or narrowly oblong- lanceolate,entire or distantly crenate, obtuse, narrowed at the base.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Leaf margin: ToothedrecordedA saw-like or jagged edge (serrate or dentate).“Leaves Opposite, subsessile or short petioled,linear or narrowly oblong- lanceolate,entire or distantly crenate, obtuse, narrowed at the base.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Leaf surface: Hirsute (coarsely hairy)recorded

Typical of the family

Type: Simple
Venation: Pinnate

Characters marked “recorded” are for Chhota Halkusa itself; the rest are typical of the Lamiaceae family.

Flower & fruit characters

Flower arrangement: Spike (stalkless flowers along a stem)recorded

Typical of the family

Flower symmetry: Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
Inflorescence: Cyme
Fruit: Nutlets

Characters marked “recorded” are for Chhota Halkusa itself; the rest are typical of the Lamiaceae family — flowering plants only.

Chhota Halkusa in India

Thumbai is a small white-flowered herb of fields and waysides, used in worship — छोटा हल्कुसा Chhota halkusa (Hindi), தும்பை Thumbai (Tamil), తుమ్మి చెట్టు Thummi chettu (Telugu), ತುಂಬೆ Tumbe gida (Kannada), തുമ്ബാ Tumba (Malayalam), तुंबा Tumba (Marathi). Leucas aspera is recorded across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, flowering through the cooler months.

Uses

The little white flowers are offered in worship (thumbai is a classic Tamil temple flower) and the plant is a household remedy — leaf juice is a traditional remedy for colds and as an antidote in folk practice (attributed, not medical advice). It is also a useful bee plant.

How to Identify Chhota Halkusa

A rough, erect annual herb with square stems and narrow toothed leaves in pairs. The small white tubular two-lipped flowers crowd into tight rounded whorls at the leaf joints — typical of the mint family — giving a button-like look up the stem.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Common Leucas called in different Indian languages?: छोटा हल्कुसा Chhota halkusa (Hindi); தும்பை Thumbai (Tamil); తుమ్మి చెట్టు Thummi chettu (Telugu); ತುಂಬೆ Tumbe gida (Kannada); തുമ്ബാ Tumba (Malayalam); तुंबा Tumba (Marathi); Ghal ghase (Bengali).
What is thumbai used for?: Its white flowers are used in worship and the leaf juice is a traditional household remedy for colds; these are attributed traditional uses, not medical advice.
How do you identify thumbai?: Look for a rough herb with square stems and tight round whorls of small white two-lipped flowers clustered at the leaf joints.

Botanical family

Lamiaceae

Mint/Sage family

Chhota Halkusa belongs to the Lamiaceae family.

The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.

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Common plant problems

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Sources: GBIF — Leucas aspera (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · iNaturalist — Leucas aspera (regional names, India observations) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Leucas aspera (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)