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Family Commelinaceae
Aligbañgon
Floscopa scandens
Lour.
CLIMBING FLOWER CUP
Shui cao

Scientific names  Common names
Aneilema aspermum Buch.-Ham. ex Wall. Aligbañgon (Tag.)
Aneilema cymosum (Blume) Kunth Babilau (S. L. Bis.)
Aneilema densiflorum (Blume) Kunth Kumpai (P. Bis.)
Aneilema hispidum D. Don Pugad-labuyo (Tag.)
Commelina cymosa Blume Sambilau (S. L. Bis.)
Commelina densiflora Blume Climbing flower cup (Engl.)
Commelina hamiltonii Spreng.  
Commelina hispida (D.Don) Ham. ex Spreng.  
Dithyrocarpus meyenianus Kunth  
Dithyrocarpus paniculatus (Roxb.) Kunth  
Dithyrocarpus petiolatus Wight  
Dithyrocarpus rothii Wight  
Dithyrocarpus rufus (C.Presl) Kunth  
Dithyrocarpus undulatus Wight  
Floscopa hamiltonii (Spreng) Hassk.  
Floscopa meyeniana (Kunth) Hassk.  
Floscopa paniculata (Roxb.) Hassk.  
Floscopa petiolata (Wight) Hassk.  
Floscopa rufa (C.Presl) Hassk.  
Floscopa scandens Lour.  
Floscopa scandens var. vaginivillosa R.H.Miau  
Floscopa undulata (Wight) Hassk.  
Lamprodithyros paniculatus (Roxb.) Hassk.  
Tradescantia geniculata Blanco  
Tradescantia paniculata Roxb.  
Tradescantia paniculata B.Heyne ex Roth  
Tradescantia rufa C.Presl  
Alikbangon is a shared common name of: (1) Kolasi (Commelina diffusa Burm) and (2) Sabilau (Commelina axillaris Linn). It is also phonetically confused with (1) Alibangon (Commelina benghalensis) and (2) Aligbañgon (Tradescantia rufa).
Floscopa scandens Lour. is an accepted species. KEW: Plants of the World Online

Other vernacular names
BANGLADESH: Kukra.
CHINESE: Da xiang zhu gao cao, Zhu ye cao, Shui zhu cai, Ju hua cao, Shui cao.
INDIA: Badishep (Marathi), Kana himlu (Assamese), Kane (Nepali), Arale hulu, Hatthi hullu (Kannada), Chaha-lubar, Soru konasimolu, Konda-amadikada (Telugu).
MALAY: Pokok bajang beranak.
MALAYSIA: Aur-aur, Awo-awo, Hawar-hawar, Kerakap sireh, Rumput tapak itek, Rumput johong beraleh.
THAILAND: Phak bieo, Phak plaap, Yaa plong khon.
VIETNAM: C[or] d[aaf]u hoa ch[uf]y, D[aaf]u r[if]u leo.

Gen info
- Floscopa is a genus of plants in the family Commelinaceae, which was first described in 1790. It comprises about 20 species.
- The specific epithet scandens dervives from Latin scandere meaning 'climbing'.

Botany
Alibañgon is a small trailing perennial herb, velvety throughout with multicellular hairs. Stems are stout, erect and creeping below, 20 to 70 centimeters long. Leaves are lanceolate, 3 to 9 centimeters long, 1 to 2 centimeters wide, sessile or petioled. Panicles are short-stalked, pyramidal with long, erect or ascending, many-flowered branches. Flowers are small and subglobose. Sepals are villous and the petals are white, lilac or rosy. Capsules are 2 to 3 millimeters long, orbicular or ellipsoid and compressed. Seeds are glaucous.

A small trailing subscandent herb, stems 20--70 cm, simple, prostrate proximally. Plants glandular pubescent throughout with multicellular hairs, or hairy only on leaf sheaths and inflorescences, sometimes sheaths hairy only on 1 side. Leaves usually sessile or with short, winged petiole; leaf blade elliptic to lanceolate, 4--12 × 1--3 cm, adaxially with scaly processes. Inflorescences several, terminal and axillary, each a broomlike panicle to 8 × 4 cm, densely glandular with long hairs; peduncle nearly absent; pedicels very short. Sepals shallowly boat-shaped. Petals blue or purple. Fertile stamens 6; filaments glabrous. Capsule ovoid, compressed, ca. 2 × 2 mm. Seeds gray-blue, semiellipsoid, ca. 1.5 mm, shallowly radiate striate. (Flora of China)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- In wet places along streams at low and medium altitudes, in most or all islands and provinces.
- Also native to Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hainan, Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicobar Isl, Queensland, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam. (5)
- Along watersides, in swampy, sunny or shaded localities, up to 1500 m altitude.

Constituents
- A methanol extract showed high amounts of phenols (198.41 mg catechol equivalent CE/g extract and flavonoids (101.70 mg quercetin equivalent/g extract, which was higher than hexane and ethyl acetate extracts. (see study below)

Properties
- Studies have showed antituberculin, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties.

Parts utilized
Leaves, stem juice, whole plant.

Uses
Edibility
- In New Guinea, leaves and young shoots cultivated as supplementary food.
Folkloric
- Plant is used for broken bones.

- In Bangladesh, leaf paste used for poisonous stings; juice squeezed on sore eyes. Plant also used as application for fractured bones. (3)
- Plant used for fever, pyoderma, abscesses and acute nephritis.
- In Peniinsular Malaysia, juice squeezed on eyes to treat sore eyes and ophthalmia. Decoction of whole plants used internally after childbirth.
- In India, leaf or stem juice used on sore eyes. (4)
- In Uttar Pradesh, India, three drops of stem juice applied to eyes three times daily for conjunctivitis. (6)
- In China, used as febrifuge; also for abscesses, pyodermas, and nephritis.
Others
- Decorative:  Suitable as aquarium plant.

Studies
Component in Anti-Tuberculin Medicine / Invention:
Invention discloses the use of a traditional Chinese composition in preparation of an anti-tuberculin medicine: 18 parts of hairy vein agrimony roots, 15 parts frog orchid tub4r, 20 parts common aeschymomene leaf flower, 12 parts Litsea glutinosa, and 20 parts of Floscopa scandens. The traditional Chinese medicine has remarkable anti-tuberculin activity. (7)
• Traditional Chinese Medicine for Treatment of Pulmonary Edema / Invention: Invention discloses a traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of pulmonary edema comprised of parts of cordate houttuynia, dandelion, Caulis lonicerae, semen lepidii, red fleshy cayratia stems and leaves, with 20-40 parts of Floscopa scandens. The traditional Chinese medicine claims to have significant curative effect on pulmonary edema from early to middle stage. (8)
• Antioxidant / Anti-Inflammatory / Anticancer: Study evaluated total phenolic and flavonoid content, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant properties, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of F. scandens. Anti-inflammatory property was proved by inhibition of protein denaturation and protease inhibitory assays. In vitro anticancer activity was assessed by cell viability assay. Non-enzymatic antioxidant activity was examined by DPPH assay, NO scavenging assay, hydroxyl radical scavenging assay, reducing power assay, H2O2 scavenging assay, superoxide scavenging assay and metal chelating assay. Enzymatic antioxidant ability was screened for the antioxidant enzymes such as ascorbate oxidase, peroxidase, catalase and polyphenol oxidase. Fresh plant showed considerable enzymatic antioxidant activity. Results suggest methanol extracts can be a source of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer bioactive compounds. (see constituents above) (9)

Availability
- Wild-crafted. 
- Seeds in the cybermarket.

Updated June 2023 / June 2019 / July 2017 / November 2016

PHOTOS / ILLUSTRATIONS
Photo / Content © Godofredo Stuart / StuartXchange
OTHER IMAGE SOURCE: Line drawing / © Zhiwutong / Non-commercial use / Cick on image or link to go to source page / Zhiwutong
OTHER IMAGE SOURCE: Photo : Commelinaceae: Floscopa scandens / Abaxial view of leaf / Copyright © 2014 by P.B. Pelser & J.F. Barcelona (contact: pieter.pelser@canterbury.ac.nz) [ref. DOL91286] / Non-Commercial Use  / click on image or link to go to source page / Phytoimages.siu.edu
OTHER IMAGE SOURCE: Phhoto:  Floscopa scandens / Dinesh Valke / CC BY SA 2.0 Generic / Cick on image or link to go to source page / Wikimedia Commons
SOURCES

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Floscopa scandens Lour. / Chinese names / Catalogue of Life, China
(2)
Floscopa scandens Lour / Vernacular names / GLOinMED
(3)
Inherited folk pharmaceutical knowledge of tribal people in the Chittagong Hill tracts, Bangladesh / Animesh Biswax, M A Bari, Mohashweta Roy and S K Bhadra / IJTK, Vol 9(1), Jan 2010.
(4)
Ethnomedicinal Plants Used by the ethnic Communities of Tinsukia District of Assam, India
/ Jitu Buragohain / Recent Research in Science and Technology, 2011; 3(9): pp 31-42
(5)
Floscopa scandens Lour. / Synonyms / KEW: Plants of the World Online

(6)
Diversity and distribution of ethnomedicinal flora for conjunctivitis from Lucknow Uttar Pradesh, India / Farzana Shakeel Ali and Uma Shankar* / International Journal of Current Microbiolog and Applied Sciences, Vol 3, No 11 (2014) pp 791-797
(7)
Application of traditional Chinese medicine composition in preparation of anti-tuberculin medicine  / CN104815175A / China
(8)
Traditional Chinese medicine for treating pulmonary edema  / CN104069270A China
(9)
Enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of Floscopa scandens Lour / Regi Anto Suganya, Gabriel Jeya Jothi / J Tradit Chin Med., 2020; 40(3): pp 473-483 /
DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2020.03.017
(10)
Floscopa scandens / Umi Kalsom Yusuf / Pl@ntUse

DOI: It is not uncommon for links on studies/sources to change. Copying and pasting the information on the search window or using the DOI (if available) will often redirect to the new link page. (Citing and Using a (DOI) Digital Object Identifier)

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