Perilla frutescens
Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. (syn.
Perilla nankinensis (Lour.) Decne., etc.) is a cultivated plant of the mint family Lamiaceae. It is the species identification encompassing two distinct varieties of traditional crop in East Asia: ▪ )
P. frutescens var. crispa the aromatic leafy herb called by its Japanese name
shiso, which in turn is a loan word from Chinese: 紫蘇; pinyin:
zi-su; Wade–Giles:
tsu-su. The plant occurs in red (purple-leaved) or green-leaved forms. It also has a less fashionable translated name "
beefsteak plant", but starting around the 1980s, with the rise of popularity of Japanese cuisine, it has become increasingly more chic for the mass media to use refer to it as
shiso ▪ )
P. frutescens var. frutescens, the oilseed crop, source of
perilla oil. This variety is used as an ingredient in Korean cuisine, both "
wild sesame" (lit. tr. of
deulggae), and "sesame leaves", which are green.