Ashoka is native to South India and Sri Lanka. It is widely distributed throughout tropical and subtropical regions such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. Also known as West Indian Jasmine, it is often used in Hindu ceremonies and traditional Indian medicine. Ashoka is often planted as a hedge and ornamental plant, and it also has medicinal properties.

It is commonly found in tropical rainforests in humid areas. It grows well in both lowlands and highlands, at altitudes of 1-1,000 m above sea level, at temperatures of 30-35 °C, and prefers full sunlight.

• The taproot is brownish.

• The stem is rough, woody, and has many branches, and is gray.

• The leaves are single, oblong-rounded, with blunt to pointed tips, 7-10 cm long and 5-7 cm wide, dark green, and shiny. The petiole is very short, almost invisible.

• The inflorescence is compound, with 15-50 flowers per inflorescence. Each flower is tubular with 4-5 open petals. The corolla lobes are lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate. The flowers are red or red-orange. They have red stalks.

• The fruit is fleshy, round, dark red to blackish-purple, and contains two seeds.

Propagation can be done vegetatively (stem or branch cuttings) or generatively (seeds).

It has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumor activity, treats wounds, skin irritation, treats red eyes, dysentery, diarrhea, boils, and bronchitis.

The chemical content in asoka flowers (Ixora Coccinea) is flavonoids, tannins, saponins and iron.