Cissus quadrangularis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Cissus quadrangularis L.

Protologue: Syst. nat. ed. 12(2): 124 (1767).

Synonyms

• Vitis quadrangularis (L.) Wight & Arnott (1834).

Vernacular names

• Climbing cactus, edible-stemmed vine, kangaroo vine (En)
• Indonesia: patah tulang (Malay), tikel balung (Javanese)
• Philippines: sugpon-sugpon (Bisaya), sulpa-sulpa (Cebu Bisaya)
• Thailand: khankho (south-western), phet sangkhaat, san cha khuat (Bangkok)
• Vietnam: hồ dằng bốn cạnh, dây xanh vuông.

Distribution

Tropical Africa and Arabia, Madagascar, Mascarenes, India and Sri Lanka; naturalized in Thailand, Vietnam, Java, the Moluccas and the Philippines.

Uses

In Java, the leaves or young stems are applied for maturation of boils, and to cure wounds and burns, also for saddle sores on horses. The crushed leaves or the juice from the stem are applied for rheumatism and to broken bones, to ease the pain. In India, the pulped stem is given in asthma, and the powdered root is considered to be a specific in the treatment of fractured bones. The powdered dry roots are used for indigestion. In the Philippines, the stems are applied as an alterative for amenorrhoea. In Thailand, the fresh stem is used in the treatment of haemorrhoids.

In southern India and Sri Lanka, the green stems are edible if fried or curried. The ash of the plant is used as a substitute for baking powder.

Observations

• A deciduous, glabrous climber, 1-2(-8) m long, with stout, succulent, quadrangular, almost winged stems, 1-1.5 cm wide, constricted at the nodes, tendrils simple, minute bract in upper half.
• Leaves variable, broadly ovate or triangular-reniform, 4-6 cm long, somewhat fleshy, base truncate, apex rounded, margins distantly serrate, petiole 5-11 mm long, stipules ovate, up to 5 mm long.
• Cymes leaf-opposed, subumbellate, more or less asymmetrical, 2-3 cm × 5-6 cm, peduncle 7-15 mm long, 2-5 primary branches, one sometimes further branched; flowers crowded, sweetly-scented.
• Petals about 2.5 mm long, recurved at anthesis, quickly caducous, pinkish inside, green and red outside.
• Berry subglobose, fleshy, about 7 mm in diameter, reddish to blackish, calyx and style persistent, 1-seeded.
• Seed obovoid, 5 mm long, endosperm in transverse section M-shaped.

C. quadrangularis occurs in arid and semi-arid conditions, especially near the coast, up to 300 m altitude, but is also planted as a hedge.

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.
• [77] Balachandran, B., Sivaswamy, S.N. & Sivaramakrishnan, V.M., 1991. Genotoxic effects of some foods & food components in Swiss mice. Indian Journal of Medical Research Section B, Biomedical Research other than Infectious Diseases 94: 378—383.
• [215] Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948—1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India.
• [407] Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, 's-Gravenhage, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 1660 + CCXLI pp.
• [491] Jirikasem, S., Limsiriwong, P., Kajsongkarm, T., Soontorntanasart, T., 2000. Phytochemical study of Cissus quadrangularis Linn. Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Science: 24—25.
• [760] Oliver-Bever, B., 1986. Medicinal plants in tropical West Africa. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 375 pp.
• [810] Quisumbing, E., 1978. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. 1262 pp.
• [838] A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon (various editors), 1980—2000. Volume 1—9. Amerind Publishing Co., New Delhi, India. Volume 10—14. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
• [889] Selvaraj, C. & Narayanasamy, P., 1991. Effect of plant extracts in controlling rice tungro. International Rice Research Newsletter 16(2): 21—22.
• [914] Siemonsma, J.S. & Kasem Piluek (Editors), 1993. Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 8. Vegetables. Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, the Netherlands. 412 pp.

Main genus page

• Cissus

Authors

• N.O. Aguilar