Pegagan: Centella, the Pennywort of Indonesian Herbs
Pegagan centella: what the leaf is and how it is used
Pegagan is a creeping pennywort, Centella asiatica, grown in gardens and used in Indonesian herbal drinks. In Bali it is also known as piduh. The plant has rounded, kidney-shaped leaves on long stalks and thin runners that root as they spread. The leaves may be eaten as a fresh green or incorporated into a drink called loloh; those are different ways of using the same plant, not interchangeable recipes or proof of a health effect.
If you meet pegagan in a food context, the useful distinction is between the recognisable fresh leaf and a prepared herbal drink. A few leaves served alongside a meal are an ingredient. A drink blended or extracted from leaves, sometimes with other plants and liquid, is a preparation whose flavour and composition depend on its recipe. In Bali, one example combines pegagan with jempiring, katuk and coconut water. It is a specific combination, not a standard formula that every seller follows.
How to recognise the plant behind the name
Pegagan does not grow as a bunch of separate upright stems. It spreads low across damp ground by slender creeping stems, also called stolons. At intervals, a runner can root and produce another leaf cluster. That growth pattern explains why a patch may look like a loose mat rather than a single plant with a clear central stalk.
Look for leaves that are broadly round or kidney-shaped, with a shallow notch where the stalk joins the blade. The edge is softly scalloped or toothed rather than smooth. Each leaf rises on its own petiole from the creeping growth. Mature leaves are not all the same size, and the length of the stalk can make a small blade appear higher above the ground than it is. Leaf size varies, and a blade’s width describes the plant, not a serving.
The plant belongs to the Apiaceae family. That family placement is useful for identification, but it does not make pegagan the same plant as coriander, celery or parsley. Nor is every round leaf found in a wet garden pegagan. Similar-looking leaves can cause mistakes, so a loose leaf without its runner, stalk and growing context is harder to identify than a rooted plant. If you are buying leaves for food, use a seller who can identify the ingredient; do not harvest an unknown mat from a roadside or drain edge.
Small flowers and fruits are easy to miss because the plant stays close to the soil. Its everyday identity is mainly in the leaf and runner, not in a conspicuous flower head. This matters when looking at a photograph: a close view of a round leaf can suggest the right plant, but the whole growth habit gives a better clue. The combination of creeping stems, rooting points and individual scalloped leaves is more informative than leaf shape alone.
Why damp ground suits pegagan
Pegagan is associated with moist ground: wet grass, field margins, marshy places and other sites where soil does not dry quickly. In a garden it can spread where water lingers and there is enough light, including along the edge of a damp bed. Its low runners allow it to occupy open ground instead of competing by growing tall. That is why it can appear beside paths or in wet garden corners, although seeing a plant beside a path does not establish that the leaves are clean enough to eat.
The difference between a garden-grown edible patch and an unmanaged edge is practical. A runner can cross from one part of the ground to another, so a neat-looking cluster may still be exposed to soil splash, animals or water flowing from elsewhere. Washing removes visible dirt, but it cannot establish how a plant was grown or what it contacted. The useful question when buying fresh leaves is not simply whether they look green; it is whether the person selling them knows their source and handling.
In a kitchen, the runner also explains why individual leaves may arrive with fine stems attached. The plant spreads through connected growth, and gathering a handful can bring a mixture of leaf sizes and stalk lengths. A cook may trim the tougher pieces or use young leaves whole, depending on the dish. Do not assume that every recipe uses the root or every part of the plant: the leafy use described here centres on the above-ground greens.
Fresh leaves are a food ingredient, not a named dish
Across Indonesia, pegagan leaves are eaten as greens, including raw alongside other foods. The name of the plant alone does not tell you how it will be served. It may be a small fresh accompaniment, part of a mixed vegetable preparation or an ingredient processed into a drink. If a menu mentions pegagan without explaining the format, ask whether it arrives as leaves or in a beverage; the answer changes the texture, taste and role it plays in the meal.
Raw leaves keep their shape and bring a leafy, slightly assertive green character. Mixed with other vegetables, they become one flavour among several. In a drink, the leaves are no longer eaten as intact leaves, and the other ingredients can soften, sharpen or sweeten the result. These are useful expectations rather than a universal tasting note: freshness, leaf maturity, preparation and recipe all affect what reaches the glass or plate.
When you see whole leaves served with a meal, consider how they are meant to be eaten. They may be a side green rather than the centre of the dish, and a chilli relish or other accompaniment can change the overall impression. If you are unfamiliar with the flavour, tasting one leaf first is a sensible way to decide whether to take more. That small choice is particularly helpful when several raw greens arrive together and you do not yet know which is mild, bitter or aromatic.
Pegagan should not be confused with a named salad merely because leaves are served raw. A salad or vegetable dish has its own combination and dressing; pegagan is the plant ingredient. The same is true of a drink: a drink containing pegagan is not automatically a single fixed recipe. This distinction makes menu questions simpler. Ask what else is mixed in, whether the leaves are raw or blended, and whether the preparation is sweetened, sour or plain.
Piduh and Bali’s loloh tradition
Piduh is a Balinese name for Centella asiatica; pegagan is the widely used Indonesian name. You may encounter different spellings or pronunciations in writing, so the botanical name is the clearest bridge when comparing references. A local name does not, by itself, tell you the recipe, the part used or the reason a drink was prepared.
Loloh is a Balinese category of herbal drinks rather than the name of one pegagan recipe. One preparation combines pegagan leaves, jempiring leaves, katuk leaves and coconut water. That example places pegagan within a mixed plant drink, where its character is only one part of the whole. It should not be presented as the island-wide standard, and it does not tell you what a particular glass contains unless the maker confirms the ingredients.
The combination also helps explain why “pegagan drink” can be too vague a description. One version might foreground the green leaves; another could include several plants and a liquid base. Colour, thickness, bitterness and sweetness can therefore vary. Ask what is in the glass and whether anything has been added to balance the greens. A direct ingredient question is more useful than assuming the drink follows a recipe you have seen elsewhere.
Traditional use and food use can overlap, but they are not the same claim. People may link loloh to wellbeing or customary practice; that shows how a preparation is understood, not a guarantee that drinking it treats a condition. Pegagan is treated here as a plant and culinary subject, with no dose given, no recommendation as medicine and no promised effect. If you have a medical question, a food guide is not a substitute for individual clinical advice.
What changes between a leaf, a loloh and dried herb
Fresh leaves are recognisable as a green ingredient. A loloh is a prepared drink, and its recipe can combine plant material with liquid or other ingredients. Dried pegagan is a stored herbal material used differently again: drying changes the texture and the way it is prepared, and the original leaf may no longer be visible in the final cup. A packet or bottled drink labelled with the plant name therefore needs more ingredient detail than the name alone supplies.
These formats answer different questions at the point of choice. If you want to taste the plant itself, intact leaves make its form easiest to recognise. If you want to try a local-style herbal drink, ask for the preparation’s ingredients and whether it is made from fresh or dried material. If you are comparing packaged products, read the full ingredient list and distinguish a plant name from a claim about what the product does.
Freshness also affects what the ingredient can tell you. A firm leaf with an intact stalk is easier to inspect than leaves crushed into a dark mixture. Once blended, the visible identity of each plant is lost. That is not a reason to avoid a drink; it is simply why asking the maker about the recipe is the better way to understand what you are choosing.
How to ask about pegagan when eating in Bali
If the name appears on a menu or is offered as a drink, start with the form: “Is this served as leaves or as a drink?” Then ask whether it is mixed with other leaves or coconut water. These questions are especially useful when you are choosing between a green side dish and loloh, because the plant may be presented in either context and the two will not taste or behave alike.
For dietary needs, confirm every ingredient rather than relying on the word pegagan. A plant-based name does not establish that the full recipe is vegan, free of added sweetener or free of an ingredient you avoid. Likewise, a house-made drink may not come with a written list. If the answer is uncertain and a particular ingredient matters to you, choose something whose composition can be explained clearly.
When buying raw leaves, ask whether they are intended to be eaten raw or cooked. That is a more precise question than asking whether pegagan is “safe”, because the answer depends on how the particular leaves were grown, handled and prepared. Foraged plants near drains, roadsides or animal areas are not a reliable shortcut to a fresh salad. An identified, food-supplied ingredient is the better choice.
Food markets are useful places to learn how local greens are named and sold, but not every stall will carry pegagan every day. Availability changes with supply and the seller’s stock; there is no reason to assume it is a permanent market item. When you find it, check whether the leaves are sold loose or as part of a prepared mix, and whether the seller calls it pegagan or piduh. For more context on the setting and the kinds of food decisions involved, see the Bali food markets guide.
Reading the evidence without turning food into a cure
Pegagan has a long role in herbal traditions, and the plant contains natural compounds. Neither fact is enough to make a specific promise about a drink or serving. The species, plant part, preparation, quantity and individual circumstances all matter; a leaf eaten with lunch is not equivalent to a concentrated extract. Traditional use should never be turned into a treatment instruction in a food context.
For a visitor, the sensible decision is straightforward: approach pegagan as a distinctive green or as one ingredient in a locally prepared drink, and ask what else is present. Enjoying a traditional preparation does not require believing a medical claim. If you are managing a health condition, pregnant, taking medicines or considering a concentrated herbal product, ask a qualified health professional rather than using a menu description to make that decision.
That boundary also protects the cultural context. Loloh is part of Bali’s herbal-drink tradition, and recipes reflect knowledge held by the people who make them. Reducing the drink to a list of promised effects loses the more immediate things a diner can actually learn: which leaves are used, how they are combined, whether the result is fresh or stored, and what flavour the maker intended.
How pegagan differs from other greens and herbal drinks
Pegagan is a creeping herb identified by its rounded leaves and runners. It is not a generic term for salad greens, and it is not synonymous with jamu as a whole. Jamu refers broadly to Indonesian herbal preparations; loloh describes a Balinese herbal-drink tradition. Pegagan can be an ingredient in a drink, but those words name different levels: one is a plant, while the others describe kinds of preparation or tradition.
That distinction is useful when comparing foods. A dish built around cooked vegetables is not the same experience as raw leaves; a mixed drink is not the same as a single-plant infusion. Bali’s food traditions also include many greens and vegetable combinations with their own names and methods. The guide to Balinese food provides a wider culinary frame, while the Balinese vegetarian food guide helps with questions about ingredients and preparation when choosing a plant-based meal.
If your interest is herbal drinks generally, begin with the Bali food and drink hub and look for the broader jamu guide. Pegagan is a useful entry point because it connects an identifiable leaf with a specific Bali drink tradition, but it should not stand in for every herbal drink found on the island or across Indonesia.
Questions visitors commonly ask about pegagan
Is pegagan the same as gotu kola?
Yes. Pegagan is the Indonesian name for Centella asiatica, commonly called gotu kola or pennywort in English. In Bali, piduh is also used as a local name. Names help, but the botanical name is the clearest identifier where several common names appear.
Is pegagan a Balinese drink?
Pegagan is a plant found in a wider Indonesian herbal and food context. In Bali, its leaves can appear in loloh, a local herbal-drink tradition. The name pegagan refers to the plant, while loloh refers to a type of preparation; not every loloh contains pegagan.
Can I eat pegagan leaves raw?
Pegagan is used as a fresh green in Indonesian food contexts, including raw preparations. Whether a particular leaf should be eaten raw depends on identification and how it was grown and handled. Ask the seller or maker about the source and intended preparation rather than picking lookalike plants.
Does every pegagan loloh use coconut water?
No single recipe can be assumed from the name. One Bali preparation combines pegagan, jempiring, katuk and coconut water, but the recipe of a drink in front of you depends on its maker. Ask what has been included.
Does pegagan treat a health problem?
Plant-based drinks and foods are part of everyday life in Bali, but they are not medicine. A traditional use does not mean a food or drink will treat a particular health condition. For treatment, or for concentrated herbal products, ask a qualified health professional.
For more on this area, see Jamu in Bali: The Traditional Herbal Drinks.
Related guides: How mahkota dewa is grown, Why lidah buaya is not automatically jamu, bangle.