Combretum trifoliatum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Combretum trifoliatum Vent.

Protologue: Choix pl.: t. 58 (1808).

Synonyms

• Combretum lucidum Blume (1825).

Vernacular names

• Malaysia: sonsong harus
• Cambodia: trâhs, tro, tras
• Laos: ben nam
• Thailand: chut, yaan tut (peninsular), puei (north-eastern)
• Vietnam: trâm bầu ba lá.

Distribution

From Burma (Myanmar), Indo-China, Thailand to Malaysia, Indonesia (except the Moluccas, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Timor), Papua New Guinea and Australia (Queensland).

Uses

In Peninsular Malaysia, the seeds are traded as a vermifuge against Ascaris. In Cambodia, the roasted seeds mixed with maize, ground and made into pills are chewed as a tonic for the gums and a remedy for angina. The juice is used for dysentery.

Observations

• A climbing or scrambling shrub up to 5 m tall, young branches fulvous-pubescent, glabrescent.
• Leaves usually 3-4(-5)-verticellate, elliptical to lanceolate, 8-16 cm × 3-5.5 cm, base slightly rounded, apex acute and mucronulate, shiny above with brown hairy domatia below, petiole 4-7 mm long, glabrescent, nigrescent.
• Inflorescence an axillary or terminal panicle, 8-20 cm long, consisting of 2-5 cm long spikes.
• Flowers in whorls of 3, 5-merous, protogynous, sweet-scented, lower receptacle densely pubescent, upper receptacle shallow-cupuliform, petals narrowly elliptical, densely pubescent, white or yellowish-white.
• Pseudocarp sessile, ellipsoid, glabrous, shiny black-brown, 3-3.5 cm × 1-1.2 cm, with (4-)5(-6) rigid wings, 3-4 mm broad.

C. trifoliatum is found in frequently flooded areas at low elevations, along banks of watercourses, in bush or forest, borders of teak forest, on limestone or alluvial clay, in everwet and seasonal climates, locally common.

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.
• [91] Bassene, E., Olschwang, D. & Pousset, J.L., 1987. African medicinal plants XXIII. Flavonoids of Combretum micranthum G. Don (Kinkeliba). Plantes Médicinales et Phytothérapie 21(2): 173—176.
• [135] Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A—H) pp. 1—1240, Vol. 2 (I—Z) pp. 1241—2444.
• [223] d'Agostino, M., Biagi, C., de Feo, V. Zollo, F. & Pizza, C., 1990. Flavonoids of Combretum micranthum. Fitoterapia 61(5): 477.
• [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.
• [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

• Combretum

Authors

• Noorma Wati Haron