Cuban Oregano (කප්පරවල්ලිය) and Vicks Plant (iriweriya ඉරිවේරිය)

Cuban Oregano (Coleus amboinicus synonym Plectranthus amboinicus) කප්පරවල්ලිය Kapparawalliya grows wild in Sri Lanka. This photo is from my sisters garden. Brought a few cuttings to plant. 

 

There is a very similar plant called Vicks Plant (iriweriya ඉරිවේරිය) (Plectranthus hadiensis/tomatose) which was originally native to South Africa.  The Cuban Oregano කප්පරවල්ලිය Kapparawalliya has a narrow leaf   The Vicks Plant iriweriya / ඉරිවේරිය wider oval leaf which is covered by woolly hair.

Below The Vicks Plant iriweriya / ඉරිවේරිය 


Wiki says "with a pungent oregano-like flavor and odor" and The aroma of the leaves can be described as a pungent combination of the aromas of oregano, thyme, and turpentine The taste of the leaves is described as being similar to the one of oregano, but with a sharp mint-like flavor..

I'll try it out on an unsuspecting tourist and get a "blind test" for comparison with Italian Oregano. Italian Oregano (Origanum vulgare) leaves look the same as Cuban Oregano.

Sinhalese and Tamil names are similar Kapparawalliya. Very common plant in childhood and trying to recall why. Also think there was another Sinhala name too, I think. Will need to go to my plant specialist class mate Sajith Dantanarayana.   Danta came thru and says

There are two types of the plant. One is called Kapparawalliya which has a narrow leaf.  The other is called iriweriya ඉරිවේරිය.  කොලය ටිකක් විතර පලල්. 

I have both plant at home and use them when preparing koththamalli for common cold or  caugh.

Or I put them both when making kola kanda  කොල කැඳ. කළවම් කොල කැඳ ඉතා ගුණයි.

ඉරිවේරිය,  කප්පරවල්ලිය, වැල්පෙනෙල, රත් කරල්හැබ, මොණර කුඩුම්බිය,  ගොටුකොළ,  බටු කොළ, හාත වාරිය, හීන් උඳුපියලිය  දමා සාදන කැඳ ඉතා ගුණයි රසයි. I have all these stuff at home and we drink regularly for breakfast.

For those who cant be bothered looking for plants and just want to order online.
https://www.arunaluplants.com/product/kapparawalliya/

Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleus_amboinicus?