Tetrastigma papillosum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Tetrastigma papillosum (Blume) Planchon

Family: Vitaceae

Synonyms

Cissus papillosa Blume , Vitis papillosa (Blume) Backer ex K. Heyne.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: areuy ki barera (Sundanese), tlecer, antawali (Javanese)
• Malaysia: akar benang tikus
• Philippines: danun (Bontoc).

Distribution

Peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, Moluccas, the Philippines and New Guinea.

Uses

In Indonesia the stems are used as strong rope, e.g. for hedges and stables. They are said to last longer than rattan. As they are difficult to bend, they should be soaked in water before use. Also in the Philippines the stems serve for tying, e.g. in making footbridges and in fencing. In Indonesia the aerial roots and leaves are ground and applied to stimulate hair growth of children.

Observations

A climbing, dioecious liana, 10-15 m long; stems terete or flattened, densely studded with long spine-like corky excrescences; tendrils simple, leaf-opposed. Leaves digitately 3-foliolate; petiole 3.3-7.5 cm long; blade of terminal leaflet elliptical, 8.2-9.7 cm × 3.6-4.8 cm, base obtuse, apex acuminate. Inflorescence a corymbose cyme, often borne on old wood, widely branched, frequently long-peduncled; flowers unisexual, 4-merous, pedicellate. Fruit a berry, pyriform when dry, about 9 mm long, 3-4-seeded, red.Seedconvex-carinate, about 5 mm × 4 mm. T. papillosum occurs on the margins of dipterocarp forest, rarely on limestone hills, up to 1200 m altitude.

Selected sources

6, 15, 71, 98, 100.

Authors

M. Brink, P.C.M. Jansen & C.H. Bosch