Clerodendrum viscosum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Clerodendrum viscosum Vent.

Protologue: Jard. Malmaison 1: 25 (1803).

Synonyms

• Clerodendrum infortunatum auct. non L.,
• Clerodendrum buchananii auct.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: kembang bugang (Sundanese), tintinga (Balinese), marurang (Ambonese)
• Thailand: naang yaem paa, ping hep (northern), khee khom (peninsular)
• Vietnam: bạch dộng nam, ngọc nữ vòm.

Distribution

Native from Pakistan and Nepal through northern India, Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand, to southern China and Indo-China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines; widely cultivated throughout South-East Asia and naturalized in Brazil.

Uses

In the Moluccas, the root is used as an antidote for Antiaris poisoning and dysentery. Heated leaves are applied as a poultice on a swollen stomach. Pounded, they are applied to burns, ulcers and boils. Furthermore, leaves are an ingredient of a herbal bath for newborns. In Thailand, the root is considered diuretic and used in the treatment of intestinal infections and kidney dysfunction. A decoction of the ground root is taken as a galactagogue. In Vietnam, leaf sap is used as an antiseptic skin wash. Leaves and roots in decoction are used against leucorrhoea, menstrual disorders and jaundice. An infusion or poultice of the leaves is applied for angina. In India, various parts of the plant are used in local medicine as a remedy for skin diseases.

Observations

• A shrub or treelet up to 3 m tall, nodes not annulate; leaves elliptical to ovate, 6-25 cm × 3.5-20 cm, base cordate to acute, apex acute or short-acuminate, margin denticulate or serrate, rarely entire, sparingly to densely pubescent on both surfaces, petiole 2-19 cm long.
• Cymes combined in a terminal panicle, 10-25 cm × 10-25 cm.
• Calyx tube 9-16 mm long, deeply 5-lobed, lobes up to 10 mm long, bright green or the lobes red, corolla cylindrical, tube 2 cm long, lobes 0.6-1.5 cm long, white often tinged pink at the mouth of the tube, showy, not fragrant, stamens long exserted, white to purplish, fruiting calyx accrescent to 2 cm long, red to purple.
• Drupe about 1 cm in diameter, bright green turning blue-black or black.

This is the plant described by Rumphius as Petasites agrestis. C. viscosum is often considered a synonym of C. infortunatum L. and also closely related to C. villosum Blume. In C. infortunatum the corolla tube is 3-4 times as long as the calyx tube, the calyx lobes have a prominent midrib and the leaves are entire. In C. viscosum the corolla tube is about twice as long as the calyx tube, at most slightly glandular, the calyx lobes without prominent midrib, and the leaves are distinctly dentate. In C. villosum the corolla tube is about as long as the calyx and is densely glandular, and the leaves are entire. C. viscosum is found in thickets and village groves from sea-level up to 500 m altitude.

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.
• [169] Chatterjee, S.N. & Chandra, G., 1996. Larvicidal role of Clerodendrum infortunatum as intestinal toxicant of Anopheles subpictus larvae. Environment and Ecology 14(2): 473—474.
• [201] Chuakul, W., Saralamp, P., Paonil, W., Temsiririrkkul, R. & Clayton, T. (Editors), 1997. Medicinal plants in Thailand. Vol. II. Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. 248 pp.
• [263] Doan Thi Nhu, Do Huy Bich, Pham Kim Man, Nguyen Thuong Thuc, Bui Xuan Chuong & Pham Duy Mai (Editors), 1990. Les plantes médicinales au Vietnam. Livre 2. Médicine traditionelle et pharmacopée [The medicinal plants of Vietnam. Volume 2. Traditional medicine and pharmacopoeia]. Agence de coopération Culturelle et Technique, Paris, France. 189 pp.
• [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.
• [459] Huxley, A., Griffiths, M. & Levy, M., 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. 4 volumes. The MacMillan Press Ltd., London, United Kingdom. 3353 pp.
• [688] Moldenke, H.N. & Moldenke, A.L., 1983. Verbenaceae. In: Dassanayake, M.D. & Fosberg, F.R. (Editors): A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. Vol. 4. Amerind Publishing Co., New Delhi, India. pp. 196—487.
• [739] Nguyen Van Duong, 1993. Medicinal plants of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Mekong Printing, Santa Ana, California, United States. 528 pp.
• [786] 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.
• [788] Pételot, A., 1952—1954. Les plantes médicinales du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam [The medicinal plants of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam]. 4 volumes. Centre National de Recherches Scientifiques et Techniques, Saigon, Vietnam.

Main genus page

• Clerodendrum

Authors

• J.L.C.H. van Valkenburg & N. Bunyapraphatsara