Bon-jui or Glory bower, Volkameria inermis

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Bon-jui or Glory bower (Volkameria inermis, Lamiaceae) is a semi-erect beautiful mangrove shrub, attaining a height of 3-4 m. The salt-tolerant plant's stem is woody. Yong shoots, petiols, leaf blades are usually glabrous but sometimes covered with minutely hairs. 

Its geographical extent is quite large. It can be found in the countries of East Asia as well as South and Southeast Asia. It can also be found in Australia and Pacific Islands, such as New Guinea too. In Bangladesh, the flowering plant is found standing beside the muddy, wet and saline soils of cannals and other waterbodies of mangrove forests or edge of mangrove forests. In the country, it has long been planted as an ornamental shrub along roadsides and road islans. In some places it is also used as a hedge in gardens.

       Other names: Koklota, Bakri, Batraj, Chitka bhat (Bang); Garden quinine, Seaside clerodendron. 

The shrub's richness is due to the leaves. These are quite beautiful. Leaf blades are entire, coriaceous, usually obovate but sometimes elliptic-ovate, 2–5 cm, opposite. Petiole 0.8-2 cm long. Flowers are bisexual, pure white, emit rich aroma; trumpet-shaped, 3-7 in axillary cymes. Flowers 3-6 cm long, narrowly tubular with reddish or purplish stamens, quite exserted from the petals. Calyx cupular, teeth 5. Corolla lobe 5. Stamens 4.

Fruits are drupe, round or oval-shaped, 1-1.4 cm long, dehiscent. When ripe it turns into black. Its quadripartite wall exposes the seeds, when it dries. Flowers and fruits can be seen almost throughout the year but mainly from July to November. It can be propagated by seeds, stem cuttings and layering.


As the evergreen shrub's branches are bent, it can be trimmed and shaped into any shape. It can survive well in open space and under the sun. The shrub is planted as medicinal one somewhere in India.

Fruits, root, leaves are used as medicine. Roots are used in rheumatism, stomach upset and having poisonous seafood; leaves are in skin diseases, itches, fevers, beriberi etc. 

Synonyms: Catesbaea javanica, Clerodendrum buxifolium, Clerodendrum capsulare, Clerodendrum commersonii, Clerodendrum coriaceum, Clerodendrum coromandelianum, Clerodendrum emarginatum, Clerodendrum inerme, Clerodendrum javanicum, Clerodendrum neriifolium, Clerodendrum ovalifolium, Clerodendrum ovatum, Ovieda inermis, Ovieda ovalifolia, Volkameria buxifolia, Volkameria commersonii, Volkameria neriifolia. 

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