Psychotria viridiflora (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Psychotria viridiflora Reinw. ex Blume

Protologue: Bijdr. fl. Ned. Ind.: 963 (1826).

Family: Rubiaceae

Synonyms

• Psychotria sylvatica Blume (1826),
• Psychotria jackii Hook.f. (1880).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: halan, ki kores (Sundanese), tenam betul (Belitung)
• Malaysia: jarum-jarum, julong-julong bukit, sepanggang (Peninsular).

Distribution

India, Nepal, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java and Borneo.

Uses

In Peninsular Malaysia and Java, the leaves are used for skin complaints such as scabies and the bites of poisonous insects and snakes. In Java, the bark and the juice of the stem are also used for these purposes. In West Kalimantan, the aerial parts are used for itch and skin infections.

In Sarawak, the old, yellowish leaves are boiled, and cloth is dyed reddish(-brown) in the thickened liquid. Powdered lime can be added as a mordant.

Observations

• A large shrub or small tree.
• Leaves variable, lanceolate to elliptical, 3.5-10(-18) cm × 2-5(-6.5) cm, entire or broadly crenate, apex gradually narrowing, shortly acuminate, rather thickly leathery, glabrous, underneath with acarodomatia, stipules variable, triangular, ovate or lobulate, acute or obtuse, margin finely fimbriate, 5-10 mm long.
• Inflorescence paniculiform-corymbiform, glabrous to short hairy, 4-6(-10) cm long.
• Flowers subsessile, heterostylous, greenish-pink or white, calyx about 1.5 mm long, hairy, corolla tube 2 mm long, lobes 2 mm long, throat inside densely hairy.
• Berry very variable, ellipsoid or subglobose, 3-6 mm long, succulent, 10-12-ribbed when dry, yellowish to red.

P. viridiflora occurs in (secondary) forest and hedges, from sea-level up to 1200(–-2400) 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.
• [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.
• [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.
• [1066] Whitmore, T.C. & Ng, F.S.P. (Editors), 1972—1989. Tree flora of Malaya. A manual for foresters. 2nd Edition. 4 volumes. Malayan Forest Records No 26. Longman Malaysia Sdn. Berhad, Kuala Lumpur & Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

Main genus page

• Psychotria

Authors

• H.C. Ong & S. Brotonogoro