Melastoma sanguineum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Melastoma sanguineum Sims

Protologue: Bot. Mag. 48: t. 2241 (1821).

Family: Melastomataceae

Synonyms

• Melastoma decemfidum Roxb. ex Jack (1823).

Vernacular names

• Malaysia: sendudok, sendudok gajah (Peninsular)
• Cambodia: prea, kenchea das
• Thailand: mang khre khon, mang khre chaang, bre chaang (peninsular)
• Vietnam: mua bà.

Distribution

From Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, southern China, Indo-China to Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, the Lesser Sunda Islands and the Moluccas.

Uses

In Malaysia, the plant is sometimes considered superior to M. malabathricum, but actually both species are used indiscriminately. In Vietnam, leaves, roots and fruits are used in folk medicine for their astringent properties in diarrhoea and leucorrhoea.

Observations

• A shrub or small tree up to 10 m tall, young branches quadrangular, covered with adpressed or spreading, red to brown scales or bristles, bark brown or grey.
• Leaves lanceolate or elliptical, seldom ovate, 3-17 cm × 1-6 cm, base rounded or acute, apex acute or acuminate, glabrous or strigose, 5- or 7-veined, pale green or tinged red beneath.
• Cyme terminal, 3-5-flowered or flowers solitary.
• Flowers normally 5-merous, hypanthium campanulate, 7-15 mm × 5-14 mm, covered with reddish bristles, sepals lanceolate or triangular, intersepalar emergences present, petals cuneate-obovate, 33-46 mm × 22-33 mm, violet, stamens dimorphic, anther of longer outer stamens violet, connective prolonged, filaments 8-12 mm long, anther of inner stamens yellow, connective not prolonged, filaments 5-8 mm long, ovary slightly shorter than hypanthium, crowned by golden bristles.
• Capsule fleshy, 8-19 mm × 8-18 mm, opening irregularly longitudinally at maturity, exposing the solid yellow pulp with orange seeds.

M. sanguineum is found in disturbed forest, along streams and roads, in open locations and savanna from sea-level up to 2300 m altitude. Based on differences in indumentum of the petiole and hypanthium three varieties are recognized.

Selected sources

• [730] Ng, F.S.P., 1991—1992. Manual of forest fruits, seeds and seedlings. 2 volumes. Malayan Forest Record No 34. Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Malaysia. 997 pp.
• [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.

Main genus page

• Melastoma

Authors

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