Originating from Malaysia, this Old World plant has made its way into the New World where apparently it has come to be used as a substitute for Cannabis sativa in the Chiapas region of Mexico where they call it "marahuanilla" or the "little marijuana."
Delightfully simple to raise, these plants make attractive ornamentals with their interesting foliage and everblooming purple flowers. While apparently rich in alkaloids, it does not contain THC and owes its interesting entheogenic effects to a yet unidentified compound. L. siribicus is also used as an emmenagogue in Thai ethnomedicine.