Adenia heterophylla (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Adenia heterophylla (Blume) Koord.

Protologue: Exkurs.-Fl. Java 2: 637 (1912).

Synonyms

Adenia populifolia (Blume) Engl. (1891), Adenia acuminata (Blume) King (1903).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: areuy patuk manuk (Sundanese), kabelo (Kangean), sasariwu (Talaud Islands)
• Papua New Guinea: malasibi
• Philippines: binoyok-boyok (Tagalog), saka-saka (Ilokano), tabungau (Mindoro)
• Cambodia: var kombo
• Laos: khua ‘phak poun, khua ngouang bouang
• Vietnam: thư diệp dị diệp.

Distribution

The Andaman Islands, Indo-China, southern China, Thailand, Malesia (except Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo), the Solomon Islands and northern Australia.

Uses

In the Philippines, a decoction of the root is considered a remedy for stomach troubles. The poisonous fruit is sometimes used for hunting, although the juicy aril has been mentioned as being edible and sweet. The poison from the fruit is used in the Andaman Islands as an arrow-poison.

Observations

A liana up to 30 m long; leaves entire to 5-partite, not peltate at base, with 2 glands on shallowly concave auricles at the apex of the petiole, auricles more or less adnate to leaf blade; flowers tubiform with connate sepals having reflexed lobes, corona absent; fruit ellipsoid to oblong. A. heterophylla is a variable species in which 4 subspecies and 2 varieties have been distinguished. In Malesia, subsp. heterophylla var. heterophylla , subsp. heterophylla var. celebica (Koord.) W.J. de Wilde and subsp. australis (R.Br. ex DC.) W.J. de Wilde are found. A. heterophylla occurs both in scrub and forest vegetation up to 1000 m altitude (in New Guinea up to 2000 m), and shows a preference for seasonal climates.

Selected sources

182, 205, 247, 250.

Main genus page

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Authors

Muhammad Mansur