Gotu Kola
Centella Asiatica

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant per 2 square feet
sunlight requirements: 6-10 hours
look out for: don’t let the plant dry out
harvest notes: harvest leaves as you need them
perennial

This attractive shade tolerant perennial tropical creeper has been used to treat many conditions for thousands of years in India, China, and Indonesia. Known as the ‘herb of longevity’, this plant is indigenous to the wetlands of Southeast Asia, where it’s consumed as a juice, tea and supplement. 

Our tropical herbalist, The Gardener Jules says: Gotu Kola is one of my favorite brain tonic herbs and has a special affinity for increasing one’s memory and overall cognitive function. Makes for a great study herb and can be useful for those with Alzheimer’s disease. I love to dice or finely chop a handful of the leaves and use similarly as parsley to sprinkle over cooked foods or incorporate into salads. I also recommend blending Gotu Kola with Sage, Rosemary, Tulsi and Blue Butterfly Pea Flowers to make a delicious brain enhancing tea blend and use this in the morning for a brain boost in a replacement of coffee. Gotu Kola also helps increase blood circulation throughout the body and can help treat varicose veins, liver disease, bladder disease and hardened arteries. Regular use imparts healthy color and tone to skin, treats eczema, psoriasis and rheumatism. You can also use Gotu Kola externally to treat burns, minimize scarring, heal wounds and promote tissue repair after injury or surgery  

Gotu kola thrives in damp lower light situations and is happy as a potted or hanging plant or planted as a creeping ground cover in your food forest. Because of where it grows and how it looks people often times mix it up with dollar weed, so be careful if you’re out in nature and you think you identify Gotu Kola, as you likely don’t have the correct plant. 

Also, do not consume if trying to conceive or pregnant.