Perillia Seeds

More often grown as a salad herb, Perillia is one of the mint family that always makes you feel quite a success as a gardener as it tends to thrive in most environments beautifully as long as you remember to water it most days.

The seed needs to sprinkled on top of your seed raise mix and gently raked in rather than covered completely.
We have found it best to harvest the leaves on a daily basis which encourages the plants to produce more.
One big cut takes a long while for the plants to recover.
The leaves can be used in their natural state or you can pickle them for a ‘year-long’ enhancement to so many foods.

The fresh leaves can easily be pickled in plum vinegar and sea salt.
Its Japanese name is ‘Furikake’.
After a week or so in the pickling solution,the leaves are then dried, chopped, and ground ready to add to your roasted Sesame Seeds as a seasoning ‘shake’ to enhance the flavour of Sweet Potato, Kale Seeds Chips or Roasted Radish Seeds.
Frequently, Green nori can also be added to this mix if you have an Asian Supermarket nearby.

If you need to grow it for medicinal reasons, the traditional TCM description is below.
Pharmaceutical Name: Folium Perillae
Botanical Name: Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt.
Common Name: Perilla leaf.
Source of Earliest Record: Benjing Jizhu
Part Used : The leaf is picked in July and August and dried in the shade.
Properties & Taste: Pungent-spicy and warm
Meridians: Lung and spleen
Functions: 1. To release the exterior symptoms and disperse cold;
2. To promote the flow of qi in the spleen and stomach;
3. To alleviate fish and crab poisoning
Indications & Combinations:
1. Wind-cold type of common cold manifested as fever, chills, headache, nasal obstruction and cough. Perilla leaf (Zisuye) is used with Fresh ginger (Shengjiang), Tangerine peel (Chenpi), Cyperus tuber (Xiangfu) and Apricot seed (Xingren) in the formula Xing Su San.
2. Qi stagnation in the spleen and stomach manifested as nausea, vomiting and fullness sensation in the chest or abdomen.
Perilla leaf (Zisuye) is used with Agastache (Huoxiang) for cold manifestations.
If there are more heat signs, Perilla leaf (Zisuye) can be prescribed with Coptis root (Huanglian).
For cases with qi stagnation and accumulation of phlegm, Perilla leaf (Zisuye) is used with Pinellia tuber (Banxia) and Magnolia bark (Houpo).
For vomiting during pregnancy, Perilla leaf (Zisuye) is used with Tangerine peel (Chenpi) and Amomum fruit (Sharen).
3. Fish and crab poisoning manifested as vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Perilla leaf (Zisuye) is used with Fresh ginger (Shengjiang) and Dahurian angelica root (Baizhi).
Dosage: 3-10 g
Cautions & Contraindications: This herb should not be boiled for a long time.