|  Botany
A coarse, smooth vine with angled or grooved
stems. Leaves are somewhat rounded in outline, 10-20 cm long, heart-shaped
at the base, 5- or 7-angled or lobed. Male racemes have long peduncles
with many flowers, with large bracts, one or two are open at a time.
Flowers are white and large. Calyx-lobes are 2 to 2.5 cm long and irregtularly
toothed. Fruit is rounded, 10 cm across, smooth, red or crimson.
Distribution
- Found in thickets and old clearings, at low and medium ascending to 1,500 meters, in the Babuyan Islands; in Cagayan, Benguet, Bontoc, Nueva Viscaya, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bulacan, Bataan, Rizal and Laguna Provinces in Luzon; in Masbate, Panay, Mangsi; and in Mindanao.
- Widely distributed from Indo-China throughout Malaysia.
- Reported in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand.
Parts used
Seeds
Constituents
and properties
• Seed yields tirchosanthin,
a ribosome-inhibiting protein and trichomislin, which induces apoptosis. source
Uses
Folkloric
• Mature seeds are finely
powdered and cooked with coconut oil and applied externally to itchy
skin lesions.
• Powdered seeds mixed with wine and drank for stomach aches.
Availability
Wildcrafted |
