Cissus hastata (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Cissus hastata Miq.

Protologue: Fl. Ind. Bat., Suppl.: 517 (1860).

Synonyms

• Vitis hastata (Miq.) Miq. (1863).

Vernacular names

• Malaysia: akar asam riang, akar iang-iang, akar kerayong
• Thailand: thao som op, som khaao (peninsular), som sandaan (south-eastern)
• Vietnam: hồ dằng mũi gióo.

Distribution

From India to Indo-China, Thailand, throughout South-East Asia to the east coast of Australia.

Uses

In Peninsular Malaysia, the pounded leaves are used to poultice boils, or are boiled and put on the abdomen for ague. In Thailand, leaves stems, or fruits are used for coughs, as an expectorant and as an anti-emetic.

Observations

• An evergreen climber with quadrangular stems, margins winged, glaucous, hairy when young, hairs unicellular, 2-armed, tendrils unbranched or bifid.
• Leaves simple, ovate to broadly ovate, 7-11.5 cm × 5.5-10.5 cm, often reddish on the lower surface when young, base cordate, apex acute to acuminate, margins serrulate, petiole 1.5-4 cm long, stipules triangular, up to 2.5 mm long, borne at right angles to the stem.
• Inflorescence umbellate, 2-3.5 cm long, 3 primary branches, pubescent, peduncle 0.5-1.2 cm long, hairs both 2-armed and uniseriate.
• Pedicel straight or curved, corolla 1.5-2 mm long, white to yellowish.
• Berry ovoid, 6-7 mm × 4-6 mm, black, 1-seeded.
• Seed pyriform, 4-4.5 mm long, endosperm in transverse section appearing almost twice divided by the endotesta; cotyledons dissimilar.

C. hastata occurs along forest margins, usually cascading over trees, from sea-level up to 700 m altitude, on most soil types.

Selected sources

• [74] Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1964—1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1964) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
• [491] Jirikasem, S., Limsiriwong, P., Kajsongkarm, T., Soontorntanasart, T., 2000. Phytochemical study of Cissus quadrangularis Linn. Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Science: 24—25.
• [586] Latiff, A., 1982. Flavonols, ellagic acid and anthocyanidins in leaves of some Malesian Vitaceae. Malaysian Journal of Science 6(A): 95—100.
• [841] 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.

Main genus page

• Cissus

Authors

• N.O. Aguilar