Trichosanthes wawrae (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Trichosanthes wawrae Cogn.

Protologue: A. DC. & C. DC., Monogr. phan. 3: 384 (1881).

Synonyms

• Trichosanthes trifolia auct. non (L.) Blume.

Vernacular names

• Malaysia: akar tiga chabang (Peninsular)
• Thailand: kheekaa din (peninsular).

Distribution

Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and Java: possibly also in peninsular Thailand.

Uses

In Peninsular Malaysia, pounded leaves have been applied to the abdomen to relieve abdominal pains. In Indonesia, the leaf juice has been used to treat paralysis and oedema.

Observations

• A dioecious, perennial vine up to 10(-15) m long, stem angular, glabrous.
• Leaves 3-foliolate with elliptical to ovate-elliptical, acuminate, serrate-dentate, glabrous leaflets, the central one 6-12.5 cm × 2-5 cm, lateral ones very unequal.
• Corolla lobes about 1 cm long (excluding fringe); male inflorescence 10-16 cm long, bracts elliptical, distinctly dentate; female flowers solitary.
• Fruit broadly ellipsoidal, 8-10 cm × 6-7 cm, red.
• Seeds elliptical-obovate, truncate at base, compressed.

T. wawrae is found in brushwood and forest, up to 1000 m altitude. It has often erroneously been treated as T. trifolia (L.) Blume, but that name actually refers to a Momordica species.

Selected sources

• [97] Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1963) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
• [202] Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A-H) pp. 1-1240. Vol. 2 (I-Z) pp. 1241-2444.
• [1126] Perry, L.M., 1980. Medicinal plants of East and Southeast Asia. Attributed properties and uses. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States & London, United Kingdom. 620 pp.
• [1227] Ridley, H.N., 1922-1925. The flora of the Malay Peninsula. 5 volumes. Government of the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States. L. Reeve & Co, London, United Kingdom.
• [1263] Rugayah & de Wilde, W.J.J.O., 1997. Trichosanthes L. (Cucurbitaceae) in Java. Blumea 42(2): 471-482.
• [1380] Smitinand, T., 1980. Thai plant names. Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand. 379 pp.

Main genus page

• Trichosanthes (Medicinal plants)

Authors

• M.S.M. Sosef, E. Boer & N. Bunyapraphatsara