The plant you ask about is Coleus forskohlii (also known as 'Plectranthus barbatus') in the family of plants called Lamiaceae. It actually grows wild in parts of West Bengal. The article referenced below, entitled "Development of Coleus forskohlii as a medicinal crop", from the Food and Agriculture Orgainization Document Repository, should give you much information of interest. The website is listed below:
www.fao.org

Here is an excerpt from the above web document:
Coleus forskohlii grows wild on sun-exposed arid and semi-arid hill slopes of the Himalayas from Simla eastward to Sikkim and Bhutan, Deccan Plateau, Eastern Ghats, Eastern Plateau and rainshadow regions of the Western Ghats in India. Latitudinal and altitudinal range for the occurrence of the species is between 8 degrees and 31 degrees N and 600-800 m respectively. The species was studied for its ecological preferences in its native habitats throughout its distribution range excluding Eastern Plateau, Sikkim and Bhutan. Before the botanical studies were undertaken, the species was studied in the regional floras and herbarium specimens were examined in seven zonal herbaria of the botanical survey of India at Dehra Dun (Himalayan flora), Allahabad (Central India flora), Shillong (northeastern India flora), Jodhpur (Rajasthan flora), Pune (western India flora), Coimbatore (southern India flora) and Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar group of islands flora), as well as at the Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun and the Blatter Herbarium in Bombay. Eleven representative ecogeographic areas were selected for habitat and population studies; between 1982 and 1985, 27 botanical trips were made for the purpose. Coleus-growing areas in the Himalayas in Uttar Pradesh were visited every month from April to December, and the other areas were visited at least twice during the blooming period. The following is the summary of the observations made on different populations and habitats of C. forskohlii (Shah 1989).
• C. forskohlii is a subtropical and warm temperate species naturally growing at 600-1800 m elevation
• The species grows on sun-exposed hill slopes and plateaus in arid and semi-arid climatic zones
• The species inhabits loamy or sandy-loam soil with 6.4 to 7.9 pH
• The species is herbaceous with annual stems and perennial rootstock

The market for the substance taken from this plant, a diterpene called forskolin, is large, judging from the number of results I got when I put "coleus forskohlii" into the search engine, Google. Most of them were to sites that offer herbal remedies, vitamins, that sort of thing. And the fact that the above-quoted and referenced article even exists, demonstrates that there is a market for the plant due to its derivative, forskolin.

New York University's Langone Medical Center has information about the plant's medicinal uses, as well as some words of caution about drug interactions (with anti-coagulants and anti-hypertensives). The medicinal uses of this plant have not been evaluated fully for safety. Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center also has useful information about Coleus forskohlii. Here is a brief excerpt: "Very limited data are available concerning the efficacy of forskolin. Most studies performed with forskolin have been human trials; those performed on heart failure and glaucoma are inconclusive."

Season All Season
Date 2006-10-17
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