Ichnocarpus frutescens (PROSEA)
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Introduction |
Ichnocarpus frutescens (L.) W.T. Aiton
- Family: Apocynaceae
Synonyms
Apocynum frutescens L., Ichnocarpus volubilis (Lour.) Merr., I. frutescens (L.) R. Br. (nom. inval.).
Vernacular names
- Malaysia: gerit jantan, gerip jantan
- Philippines: sigid (Bisaya), hinggiw (Tagalog), sadak (Ilokano). Burma (Myanmar): tansapai
- Thailand: khruea chen, chai song, po tohai.
Distribution
From Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal through Burma (Myanmar), Indo-China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines to southern China, New Guinea and Australia.
Uses
The stems are used for handicrafts and as rough rope, e.g. for fishing gear and fencing. They are popular among handicraft manufacturers in Quezon Province (the Philippines), because of their strength and appearance. In China the fine, strong fibre obtained from the bast is made into rope and sacks. In India the flowers are used in treating diabetes, and the roots, stems and leaves for fever, dyspepsia and skin complaints. In China the seeds are used for the treatment of rheumatism and the stems and leaves for acute urticaria.
Observations
A liana, up to 20 m long. Branchlets pubescent when young, soon glabrous. Leaves opposite; petiole 0.5-2.9 cm long; leaf blade elliptical or ovate, up to 15 cm × 8.5 cm, base cuneate to rounded, apex shortly acuminate, lateral veins 4-8 pairs. Inflorescence many-flowered, 3-8 cm long, most flowers in pedunculate heads; calyx densely pubescent; corolla tube about 2.5 mm long, lobes narrowly oblong, about 5 mm long; anthers elliptical, disk lobes free, linear, longer than ovary; ovary pubescent. Fruit a pair of follicles, each one cylindrical, 8-15 cm × 4-5 mm, slightly torulose, pubescent. Seed linear, coma about 2.5 cm long. I. frutescens grows in a range of habitats, but most often in moist to dry evergreen or deciduous forest, up to 900 m altitude. In the Philippines it is threatened by over-exploitation.
Selected sources
6, 14, 19, 20, 45, 53, 111, 115, 118, 160, 201.
Authors
M. Brink, P.C.M. Jansen & C.H. Bosch