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This is a low shrub found in the low country dry zone. Until this plant was recorded recently in the country it was considered to be native only to India. It has been introduced and is naturalized in Africa.

This species is yet to be included in the national red list of 2012.

Local communities still use sticks from the woody parts of this plan to brush their teeth. One end is chewed and used as a toothbrush. In traditional medicine leaf and the roots of this plant are used to treat many ailments. Experiments conducted has revealed that the leaf and root ethanolic extracts of this species can be used to treat ailments caused by Staphylococcus aureus which is a bacteria that can cause a range of illnesses from minor skin infections, such as pimples, boils, cellulitis scaled skin syndrome to life threatening diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis.

Not much information is available on this species in the local literature on flora except for the fact that it is an indigenous species and found near the south coast.

I observed this species flowering in Wilpattu during the month of January close to Palu Kola Wala.