Combretum sundaicum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Combretum sundaicum Miq.

Protologue: Fl. Ind. Bat. Suppl.: 327 (1860).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: akar gambir-gambir (Malay), sungsung ayer (West Kalimantan), bayit jaha (Lampung, Sumatra)
• Vietnam: chưn bầ sun da, trâm bầu sun da.

Distribution

From Indo-China, (peninsular) Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra and Borneo.

Uses

In Peninsular Malaysia, the leaves and roots are used for poulticing boils, and the leaves are applied to sooth a headache. The leaves used to be promoted as a cure for opium-craving.

Observations

• A scandent shrub or liana up to 30 m, young branches densely ferruginous-scaly, glabrescent.
• Leaves opposite, broadly elliptical, 6-12(-15) cm × 3-7(-10) cm, base rounded or cuneate, apex mostly acuminate, initially densely scaly, petiole up to 2 cm long, rather slender.
• Inflorescence a terminal panicle of head-like spikes or racemes.
• Flowers 4-merous, subsessile, receptacle sparsely pubescent, lower receptacle 3 mm long, densely scaly, upper receptacle narrowly tubular, 5 mm long, somewhat expanding at the apex, petals obovate to suborbicular, greenish white.
• Pseudocarp suborbicular, 2.5-3 cm × 2-2.5 cm, with 4 thin flexible wings up to 1.5 cm broad.

C. sundaicum is found in open bush vegetation and forest margins from sea-level up to 250 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.
• [589] Lecompte, O., 1969. Combretaceae. In: Tardieu-Blot, M.-L. (Editor): Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viêtnam [Flora of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam]. Vol. 10. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. 119 pp.

Main genus page

• Combretum

Authors

• Noorma Wati Haron